Blood, 1949, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 747-751.
© 1949 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
A FACTOR IN SERUM WHICH ACCELERATES THE CONVERSION OF
PROTHROMBIN TO THROMBIN
III. ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE COAGULATION DEFECT OF THROMBOCYTOPENIC BLOOD
BENJAMIN ALEXANDER M.D.1,
ANDRE DE VRIES M.D.1, and
EUNICE ADDELSON 1
1 Medical Research Laboratory, Beth Israel Hospital, and the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
The sera from thrombocytopenic blood show abnormally large residual prothrombin activity and small amounts of prothrombin conversion accelerator. The
addition of normal platelets or thromboplastin corrects these abnormalities. In one
subject the clotting defect persisted despite temporary remission of the thrombocytopenia consequent to splenectomy.