Platelet phospholipid in stroke.

A study of platelet phospholipids in patients with stroke has been undertaken comparatively with patients without predisposition to thrombosis. An increase in the phospholipid/protein ratio in platelets was observed in patients with acute cerebrovascular accident. A significant increase of palmitoleic acid is observed in platelet phospholipids of these patients; it is accompanied by a decrease of linoleic acid. These modifications are reflected in plasma where linoleic acid is greatly diminished but where an important increase of palmitic acid is noted besides palmitoleic acid. A possible relation between higher clotting activity of platelets and those modifications in their phospholipids is discussed.