Haemorheological abnormalities in chronic alcoholism

Abstract

The haemorheological traits were studied in 129 alcoholic liver diseases, 19 alcoholic patients without liver damage, 20 liver diseases without alcoholism and 50 controls. The methods included: 1) blood filtration, allowing an assessment of red blood cell deformability, plasma and whole blood viscosities, scanning electron microscopy; 2) in alcoholic group: intraerythrocyte ATP level, RBC membrane lipids analysis (cholesterol (e) and phospholipids (PL) content), search for correlations between initial blood filtration and MCV, rheological risk factors, blood filtration obtained after a fortnight’s alcohol withdrawal. In alcoholics, blood filterability was significantly decreased compared with non alcoholic liver diseases and healthy subjects. Plasma and whole blood viscosities were raised, whereas ATP level dropped; increased cholesterol content induced a rise in C/PL ratio. These disturbances were correlated with morphological abnormalities observed with scanning electron microscopy. They were not correlated either with the severity of the liver disease (whether cirrhotic or non cirrhotic or non existent) or with macrocytosis and risk factors. They improved when patients were weaned from alcohol. Therefore red cell deformability abnormalities in alcoholics, purpose of the discussion, seem to be significant markers of alcoholism.