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PLoS One 2020 28;15(12):e0244129. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Lazzaro Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Background: Detailed temporal analyses of complete (full) blood count (CBC) parameters, their evolution and relationship to patient age, gender, co-morbidities and management outcomes in survivors and non-survivors with COVID-19 disease, could identify prognostic clinical biomarkers.

Methods: From 29 January 2020 until 28 March 2020, we performed a longitudinal cohort study of COVID-19 inpatients at the Italian National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Rome, Italy. 9 CBC parameters were studied as continuous variables [neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, platelets, mean platelet volume, red blood cell count, haemoglobin concentration, mean red blood cell volume and red blood cell distribution width (RDW %)]. Read More

Eur J Haematol 2020 Feb 12;104(2):138-144. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

Cellular Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy.

Objectives: ASCT is currently the "gold standard" first-line treatment for multiple myeloma patients younger than 65 years old, and limited data on efficacy and safety in older patients are available.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 83 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients aged 65 or older. All patients were evaluated for fitness at diagnosis and after bortezomib-based induction treatment. Read More

Int J Neurosci 2011 Apr 19;121(4):176-80. Epub 2011 Jan 19.

Division of Hematology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong Province, China.

Nerve regeneration includes regrowth of injured axons as well as myelination, restoration of synaptic connections and recovery of physiological functions. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is prepared from the patient's own blood and contains growth factors that influence wound healing and used in various surgical fields including oral and maxillofacial surgery. When platelets are activated either ex vivo or in vivo, growth factors and proteins were released from platelets' alpha granules. Read More

Transfusion 2002 Sep;42(9):1206-16

Naval Blood Research Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts 02118, USA.

Background: The survival of fresh and preserved platelets has been used primarily to determine their therapeutic effectiveness. The function of the fresh and preserved platelets has been difficult to assess. In stable thrombocytopenic patients, platelet function of fresh and preserved allogeneic platelets is evaluated by the reduction in bleeding time. Read More

J Biol Chem 1985 Jul;260(13):8014-9

The carbocyanine dye 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine iodide has been used to investigate changes in membrane potential (Em) which occur upon binding of complement proteins C5b-9 to the plasma membrane of blood platelets. Gel-filtered platelets exposed to C5b6 and C7 in serum-free medium show no change in Em from that of controls, as indicated by either 3,3,'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine iodide fluorescence or by the distribution of [14C]tetraphenylphosphonium bromide. Addition of complement proteins C8 and C9 to the C5b67 platelets results in partial depolarization of Em, which spontaneously repolarizes to basal levels within 15-20 min at 37 degrees C. Read More

Respiration 1985 ;48(2):159-63

A study of the platelet count in rats exposed to normobaric hypoxia for 4 weeks revealed that hypoxia alone, without any change in barometric pressure, considerably reduced the number of thrombocytes. In order to elucidate the mechanism of hypoxic thrombocytopenia, the survival and recovery of 51Cr-labelled platelets were tested. The survival and recovery of platelets from hypoxic rats injected into normoxic recipients were normal. Read More

J Cell Biol 1981 Oct;91(1):201-11

Human blood platelets, which are highly motile cells essential for the maintenance of hemostasis, contain large quantities of actin and other contractile proteins. We have previously introduced a method (Lucas, R. C. Read More