Ticlopidine, Platelets and Vascular Disease

Blood platelets lack a nucleus. As a result their life span is short and they cannot reproduce themselves. Platelets share these qualities with the red blood cell. Plate­ lets and red blood cells, nevertheless, serve vital roles in the body. One major function of the platelet is its capacity to aggregate and thereby initiate intravas­ cular coagulation which often underlies such major diseases as myocardial infarc­ tion, cerebral infarction, and pulmonary embolism. For this reason in recent y