Plasma from atherosclerotic patients exerts an increased degradation of platelet-activating factor.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a naturally occurring phospholipid that exerts diverse biological activities. In the present study the degradation of PAF as well as lipid concentrations were measured both in plasma from 28 patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease and 18 healthy volunteers of comparable age. Beside some changes of the lipoprotein pattern it was also found that the capacity to degrade PAF is significantly elevated in the patient group. In view of this finding the question arises whether there is any link between the degradation of PAF and the development of atherosclerosis.