Summary
Protein C, an antithrombotic protein, was measured immunologically in 299 patients with clinical conditions associated with a high frequency of venous or arterial thromboembolism. The mean protein C antigen (PC: Ag) level was high for 48 patients with ischemic heart disease and, to a lesser extent, for 95 diabetics. In 28 patients with thrombotic strokes, 48 patients with proximal deep-vein thrombosis and in 80 patients with localized or metastatic tumors, mean PC: Ag was normal. Comparison of the pattern of changes of PC: Ag levels with those of fibrinogen, orosomucoid and prothrombin in 21 patients during the postoperative period and in 20 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis ruled out the possibility that high PC: Ag is non-specific, acute-phase reaction to inflammation, tissue injury or neoplastic growth. Therefore, high PC:Ag might be specifically related to the thrombotic tendency of these patients, but the mechanism of such a relationship remains to be clarified.
Key words
Protein C - Deep-vein thrombosis - Tumors - Stroke-diabetes - Ischemic heart disease - Acute phase reactions
