[Infection and tissue ischemia: role of cellular rheology].

It is not clear how acute infection is associated with a subsequent ischaemic brain infarction. Infection may, indeed, cause changes in blood fluidity. Abnormalities in blood flow, particularly in white blood cell rheology, are known to be precipitating factors for ischaemic events. Therefore, the rheological behaviour of the erythrocytes and of the main leucocyte subpopulations (granulocytes = G; mononuclear cells = MNL) were studied in 29 patients 30 days after the onset of acute bacterial infections. A group of 49 controls (matched for sex, body mass index and cardiovascular risk factors) was also evaluated. A significant impairment in the flow properties of the mononuclear leucocyte subpopulation was found in the patients as compared to control. These results indicate that disturbances in leucocyte rheology might be considered an additional risk factor for ischaemic brain infarction when this occurs shortly after febrile infection.