Studies on platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine in East Africans

Abstract

1. A study was done on the platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) from Africans in areas where endomyocardial fibrosis is common.2. There were only small differences between the mean platelet or blood5HT in Europeans and plantain-eating Africans; the distribution of the results showed a wider scatter in the African community, including values outside the upper limits of normal but not within the range reported for carcinoid.3. Patients in hospital had lower platelet5HT contents regardless of cardiac condition or disease than healthy Africans on similar diets, suggesting no specific abnormality related to platelet5HT levels and endomyocardial fibrosis.4. A small number of radioactive studies suggested that only 1–4 % of oral5HT may reach the platelets; a significant increase in platelet5HT did occur after a plantain meal; the in-crease after a meal but not after oral5HT may be explained by release of endogenous5HT from the small intestine under the influence of the high bulk of the diet. Attention is drawn to the high incidence of adult intussusception and volvulus associated with such diets.