Model developed to predict platelet aggregation

Biophysicists have created a mathematical model to predict arterial thrombus formation – the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Researchers derived equations allowing them to reproduce platelet aggregation, which they described as being similar to the computer game Tetris.

The process was found to resemble a travelling wave in which platelets flow in blood plasma. In this state the platelets can change from a free-flowing state to one where they are deposited in the blood vessels.

Mikhail Panteleev, an author of the paper published, explained why arteries were the focus of this study. “Arterial thrombi in particular are very interesting, due to their social importance (heart attacks and ischemic strokes) and complex mechanisms. However, we have always had difficulty working with arterial thrombosis in terms of developing and implementing computer models, because the subject involves a very complicated combination of mechanics, variable geometry, and incredible biochemistry.”

Previous studies have shown thrombus formation is comparable to an autowave, with blood an active medium for platelets and proteins responsible for blood coagulation.

Arterial thrombi formation can form not only from injury to blood vessels but a build-up of fatty plaque within the vessels  - atherosclerosis. This can cause the blood vessel to become blocked causing strokes or gangrene.

Panteleev added: “We tried to use the most primitive description of a thrombus as a continuous medium, rather than discrete particles. This approximation is rough in many respects and it limits the scope of the research, but it is able to give us some common patterns. We plan to continue to apply it to specific tasks, as far as it is applicable, and we are developing more sophisticated and advanced models with three-dimensional blood cells, the full mechanics of their interaction, and the proper biochemistry.”

The study involved researchers from Russia and Germany and was published in PLOS ONE.