Platelet Hyperactivity in Patients of Vascular Dementia

Abstract

Platelet-monocyte (PMA) and platelet-neutrophil aggregations (PNA) are critical in causing acute inflammatory reactions favoring vascular dysfunction. However, the precise pathophysiological link between platelet-leukocyte aggregates and vascular dementia (VaD) remains undetermined. Our study aimed to investigate platelet hyperresponsiveness in patients of VaD. Vascular dementia was diagnosed based on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Association Internationale pour la recherche et l’Enseignement en Neurosciences (NINDS AIREN) Criteria. All the patients were screened based on our pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were enrolled in our study. Platelet from 19 VaD patients and 18 age-matched healthy controls were subjected to different investigations. PMA, PNA, P-selectin externalization, and intracellular free Ca+2 ([Ca+2<inf>i</inf>]) flux were evaluated either in whole blood or in platelet-rich plasma. The result revealed that PMA, PNA, P-selectin, and [Ca+2]<inf>i</inf> were found to be significantly outnumbered in the VaD group (4.1, 2.8, 2.7, and 2.5 times higher) compared to the control group with p-value < 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001, and 0.001 at 95% CI = 31.164 to 54.855, 8.653 to 22.793, 35.064 to 94.369, and 8747.015 to 28,829.618, respectively. Patients with vascular dementia have increased platelet leucocyte interaction, and PMA has the most significant prediction of vascular dementia than in subjects of healthy control. Thus, platelets in VaD patients switch to a “hyperactive” phenotype. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.