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The positive association between erythrocyte stability and RDW may reflect one possible mechanism involved in the clinical meaning of this hematological index.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) probably occurs by oxidative, inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms. This study investigated the influence of statin on the stability of erythrocyte membranes in MS patients. The population was composed of one group with simvastatin therapy (20 mg/day), another group without statin therapy and a healthy control group. The stability of erythrocytes was evaluated by the half-transition points, H(50) and D(50), obtained from the curves of hemolysis induced by hypotonic shock and ethanol action, respectively. Erythrocytes of MS patients were less stable against lysis by both chaotropes. This behavior may be merely a consequence of the lifestyle of MS patients or it may be intrinsically associated with the conjunct of factors responsible for the development of the disease. The use of statin by MS patients was associated with lower levels of LDL and total cholesterol, as expected, and with higher stability of erythrocytes against ethanol compared to the values of untreated MS patients.

This study evaluated the influence of infection by Plasmodium vivax on the relations between hematological and biochemical variables and the osmotic stability of the erythrocyte membrane in a Brazilian Amazon population. A total of 72 patients with P. vivax malaria were included in the study and invited to return after 14 days, post-treatment with chloroquine and primaquine, for clinical and laboratorial reevaluations. The osmotic stability of the erythrocyte membrane was analyzed by nonlinear regression of the dependency of the absorbance of hemoglobin, released with hemolysis, as a function of the salt concentration, and it was represented by the inverse of the salt concentration at the midpoint of the curve (1/H 50) and by the variation of salt concentration, which promotes lysis (dX). Bivariate and multivariate methods were used in the analysis of the results. Prior to treatment of the disease, the erythrocytes showed greater stability, probably due to the natural selection of young and also more stable erythrocytes. The bivariate analysis showed that 1/H 50 was positively correlated with red cell distribution width (RDW), urea, triglycerides, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-cholesterol, but negatively associated with albumin, HDL-cholesterol, and indirect bilirubin, while dX was negatively associated with the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. These associations were confirmed by canonical correlation analysis. Stepwise multiple linear regression showed that albumin, urea, triglycerides, and VLDL-cholesterol are the variables with the highest abilities of predicting erythrocyte stability. The bivariate analysis also showed that the hematological index RDW was related to elevated levels of bilirubin and decreased levels of albumin and urea, associated with liver damage resulting from malaria.