Summary
Plasma viscosity (PV), apparent whole blood viscosity (WBV), relative blood viscosity (RV) and erythrocyte deformability (filterability) (EDF) were determined in 13 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits with alloxan induced-diabetes (AID) and 8 normal NZW rabbits, matched for age, sex and weight. AID rabbits were divided into two groups depending on the duration of hyperglycemia (long-term, > 6.0 months (n = 7), and short-term, ≤ 3.0 months of hyperglycemia, n = 6). Comparing long-term AID rabbits to normal animals, we found significant increases in WBV (P < 0.001, 0.005 for high and low rates of shear, respectively), and a marked reduction in EDF (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in PV between long-term AID and normal rabbits. Conversely, PV was significantly increased in rabbits with short-term diabetes (P < 0.01) while there was a concurrent significant increase in WBV measured at high and low rates of shear (P < 0.001, 0.001, respectively). No difference was detected in EDF between normal and short-term AID rabbits. Furthermore, in long-term AID rabbits there was a strongly positive correlation between RV and reduced erythrocyte deformability (r = 0.94, P = 0.006) while WBV strongly correlated with PV (r = 0.92, P = 0.004) in the short-term AID subgroup. We conclude from these data: (1) elevated blood viscosity in long term AID rabbits is associated with reduced erythrocyte filterability; and (2) elevated WBV in short-term AID rabbits is associated with increased PV.
Key words
Erythrocyte Deformability - Blood Viscosity - Diabetes - Alloxan
