Abstract
Cytoplasmic viscosity is an important determinant of erythrocyte deformability in vivo and of erythrocyte filterability through pores of 5–6 µm diameter in vitro. The cytoplasmic viscosity of human erythrocytes depends on the concentration and composition of haemoglobin and on the cell content of cations (Na+ and K+) and water. Loss of erythrocyte water may occur in response to extracellular accumulation of lactate during exercise and in vascular disease. Alterations in erythrocyte cation and water flux contribute to the abnormal blood rheology of sickle-cell anaemia and erythrocyte hydrotherapy using cation-sparing drugs such as cetiedil and oxpentifylline is a new rheological approach to its treatment. This review describes the physiological mechanisms that regulate the cation and water content of human erythrocytes, the pathological changes that can adversely affect erythrocyte rheology in clinical disorders, and the therapeutic potential of drugs that act on the erythrocyte membrane to alter cation and water flux.
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