Platelet malondialdehyde production kinetics after cyclooxygenase block. A study performed with a modified high sensitivity assay.

A modification of the original thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method for malondialdehyde (MDA) assay is described. The improvement is essentially based on the clearing effect of KClO4 that makes measurements more simple and sensitive. MDA values obtained in normal subjects were almost eightfold higher than those obtainable with Stuart's original assay method, so that after cyclooxygenase block it was possible to assess platelet regeneration time even in thrombocytopenic patients with at least 60,000 platelets/microliter and MDA production early after aspirin intake. To challenge this modification, platelet regeneration time was studied in normal subjects as well as in thrombocytopenic patients, either hypoplastic or idiopathic, and in hypoxemic patients with increased platelet consumption. The initial disappearance kinetics of platelet MDA and thromboxane B2 production after aspirin suggests that TBA-reactive material is synthesized through the lipoxygenase pathway. The reversible block determined by acetylsalicylic acid and salicylate on hydroperoxi-eicosatetraenoic acid peroxidase can be responsible for the initial increase of this TBA-reactive material.