Platelet heterogeneity: relevance to the use of platelets to study psychiatric disorders.

Laboratory workers in fields outside of hematology have shown increased interest in the platelet as an investigative model over the past decade. Simultaneously, primary knowledge about platelet biology has expanded rapidly. It is now clear that many of the platelet's specific properties may influence the collection and interpretation of platelet-related, experimental data. or example, platelet heterogeneity, with respect to physical and function character exerts a significant impact on platelet-related experiments. This report highlights some of the recent advances in the area, with specific emphasis on the area of platelet aging and its effect on the use of platelets as an investigative tool.