[Association between fibrinogen and blood sedimentation rate in combined extracorporal and fibrinogen reducing drug therapy].

Fibrinogen appears to play an important role in atherogenesis, whereby high levels of fibrinogen can lead to a disturbance of the haemorheologic pattern. To evaluate the association between fibrinogen and blood sedimentation rate (BSR) 40 patients suffering from cerebral multi-infarct disease underwent a single heparin-induced extracorporeal LDL < fibrinogen > precipitation (HELP). Subsequently they were randomly assigned to two groups, either receiving sustained-release bezafibrate 400 mg daily (n = 21) or placebo (n = 19) over a period of eight weeks. HELP led to a statistically significant reduction of fibrinogen (p < 0.0001). At the end of the trial the difference between the bezafibrate group and the controls became significant (p < 0.05). The BSR strictly followed the course of fibrinogen, indicating a significant reduction after HELP (p < 0.0001 for both BSR values) and a difference between both groups at the end of the study (p < 0.05 and p < 0.03, respectively). The correlation between fibrinogen and BSR remained significant during the whole trial.