Summary
Although tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) plays an essential role in the regulation
of blood coagulation, the quantitative changes in its levels in thrombotic disease
are still undefined. We compared TFPI activity in ischemic stroke patients and control
subjects matched for age and cholesterol level to determine whether TFPI activity
is changed in the disease. TFPI activity was significantly lower in the stroke patients
(1.01 ± 0.24 U/ml) than in the control subjects (1.10 ± 0.16 U/ml). In relation to
clinical subtypes of stroke, TFPI activity in atherothrombotic infarction (0.93 ±
0.19 U/ml) and lacunar infarction (0.99 ± 0.23 U/ml) was significantly lower than
in the control subjects, whereas the level in cardioembolic infarction (1.16 ± 0.31
U/ml) was not. No relationship could be established between TFPI activity and other
haemostatic parameters reflecting the production of thrombin/fibrin and the activation
of fibrinolysis. These results may suggest that the moderately lower TFPI activity
in stroke patients could be due to atherosclerotic changes rather than to consumptive
coagulopathy.