Blood platelet calcium content and aggregation behaviour in myeloproliferative disorders and secondary thrombocytosis

In 19 patients affected by various kinds of myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) and in 15 patients with secondary thrombocytosis (ST) due to a variety of aetiologies some tests of platelet function and chemistry were performed. The MPD patients showed slightly to excessively elevated platelet counts at the time of investigation and a great deal of them had a history of thrombotic and/or haemorrhagic events. The total calcium content of platelets was significantly lower (2P less than 0.001) in both groups of patients as compared to controls. In 14 of 19 patients with MPD platelet rich plasma did not respond to epinephrine (15 mumol/l), a concentration which induced at least weak aggregation in all patients with ST but one and also in healthy subjects. In patients with MPD the mean extent of all kinds of induced aggregation was significantly lower (2P less than 0.002) as compared to controls whereas in patients with ST in most cases this parameter did not differ significantly from that of controls. The results as a whole confirm the concept of an acquired storage pool deficiency in patients with MPD.