(Circulation. 1999;99:1-2.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News |
Cardiovascular News
As Editor of Circulation, I am pleased to announce a new initiative in publishing that we are introducing in this first issue of the new year: Circulation Online Only.
In an effort to publish various types of articles more rapidly, we are looking to put the Internet to its highest and best use and take full advantage of electronic publishing. The articles to be published in Circulation Online Only will be identified, and when applicable, an abstract published, on a special page within the print journal differentiated by a red border. Each article that appears in Circulation Online Only is indexed in Index Medicus, MEDLINE, and PubMed. Each article will also appear in the Table of Contents on the cover, denoted by a red star, and in the Table of Contents within the journal, denoted by the letter e in front of the page number.
The editors and staff of Circulation are hopeful that our readers are utilizing the electronic version of the journal now and will also anticipate having additional material available in Circulation Online Only.
Circulation Electronic Pages
Evaluation of Platelet Membrane
Glycoproteins in Coronary Artery Disease
Meinrad Gawaz, MD; Franz-Josef
Neumann, MD; Albert Schömig, MD
Platelets play an important pathophysiological role in thrombotic events in coronary artery disease. Platelet membrane glycoproteins mediate important steps in adhesion and aggregation and are therefore interesting targets for development of novel antiplatelet drugs. In the past, evaluation of platelet membrane glycoproteins has contributed significantly to our understanding of coronary thrombotic events in acute coronary syndromes and during coronary interventions. The present article summarizes the pathophysiological role of platelet membrane glycoproteins in platelet function and in coronary artery disease. Novel diagnostic tools for evaluation of membrane glycoproteins are discussed. With the use of activation-specific monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometric techniques, surface expression of activation-dependent antigens (fibrinogen receptor or P-selectin) on circulating platelets can be determined. In addition, characterization of platelet adhesion to leukocytes complements diagnostic evaluation of platelet function.
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