There are many studies on physical effects of hot spring bathing, but few studies have been made on effects of hot spring bathing on coagulation and fibrinolytic systems. Therefore we studied the effects of hot spring bathing blood coagulation and fibrinolytic systems by measuring levels of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), euglobulin lysis time (ELT), plasminogen (PLG), alpha plasmin inhibitor (alpha 2 PI), fibrinogen (FBG), antithrombin III (AT III), thrombin antithrombin III complex (T-AT), and von Willebrand factor (vWF) in plasma before and after hot bathing.
Methods: The above measurements were made on 20 patients with chronic thrombotic stroke (65±12 years old (mean±2SD), comprising 18 cases of deep branch artery occlusion including four cases of multiple infarction and two cases of main trunk artery occlusion.
Collection and assay methods: Blood was collected from antecubital veins before and after a five-minute hot bath (at 40°C) and dissolved into 3.8% sodium citrate at the volume ratio of 1:10. T-PA and T-AT were measured by specific enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay. ELT by the fibrin plate method. and vWF by immunoelectrophoresis. Activities of P1G, alpha 2 PI, and AT III were measured by S 2251 and S 2238.
Results: The basal level of t-PA was 5.4±.8ng/ml (±2SD) and rose to 7.2±1.8ng/ml (±2SD) after a five-minute hot bath (p<0.005). ELT decreased from 6.5±1.5 hours (±2SD) to 4.9±1.8 hours (±2SD) (0.1Conclusion: The above results show that fibrinolysis is induced during hot bathing by the release of tissue plasminogen activator from vessel walls without causing significant coagulative activities, suggesting the clinical significance of hot bath in patients with thrombotic stroke.