Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) in obese men and obese women

When compared to plasma PAI activity noted in selected control normal-weight normolipidemic women (9.36 AU/ml +/- 1.2) and men (13.6 AU/ml +/- 1.96), this inhibitor of fibrinolysis was found to be significantly (p < 0.001) higher in gender-matched obese patients. Obese men younger than 45 years, however, displayed a plasma PAI activity (32.5 AU/ml +/- 5.45) significantly higher (p < 0.01) than that recorded in age-matched obese women (17.8 AU/ml +/- 2.25). No significant difference concerning PAI activity was noted between women older than 45 years (26.4 AU/ml +/- 3.66) and age-matched men (23.8 AU/ml +/- 3.29). High plasma PAI activity was accompanied by an increased resistance of plasma clots to exogenous t-PA induced fibrinolysis. Since PAI depleted plasma clots however displayed a weak resistance to t-PA induced fibrinolysis, it was concluded that plasma PAI may be the main, but not the only factor, responsible for the prolonged plasma clot lysis time in obese subjects.