The Effect of Direct Electric Current on Some Parameters of Human Blood Coagulation

International Journal of Biomedicine 15(4) (2025) 741-745 http://dx.doi.org/10.21103/Article15(4)_OA16 ORIGINAL ARTICLE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICINE Experimental Biology The Effect of Direct Electric Current on Some Parameters of Human Blood Coagulation Anzhela Z. Galstyan1, Zoya Kh. Paronyan1*, Narine S. Piloyan1, Hasmik A. Stepanyan1, Davit A. Poghosyan1, Lusine R. Arakelyan1, Torgom Ye. Seferyan1 1 Institute of Biochemistry after H. Buniatyan, NAS RA, Yerevan, Armenia Abstract Background: Direct current (DC) is increasingly used in medical applications, yet its effects on blood plasma hemostasis remain underexplored. This study systematically examines the effects of DC exposure on key coagulation parameters and plasma pH, highlighting their potential physiological relevance and implications for electrotherapeutic strategies. Methods and Results: The experiments used a pooled plasma sample from healthy donors, which was subjected to electrolysis using platinum point electrodes and a DC with a voltage range of 11-19 V. A number of parameters characterizing plasma hemostasis were measured to assess the coagulation process, including recalcification time, prothrombin time, thrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalized ratio index, fibrinogen level, pH, and absorbed current strength. Experimental data showed that, with increasing current voltage during electrolysis, plasma coagulation time exhibits nonlinear changes, some parameters change significantly, and plasma hemostasis slows down beyond a certain current voltage threshold. The obtained data can be helpful for both therapeutic and other research in this field. (International Journal of Biomedicine. 2025;15(4):741-745.) Keywords: plasma • hemostasis • fibrinogen • anticoagulant action For citation: Galstyan AZ, Paronyan ZKh, Piloyan NS, Stepanyan HA, Poghosyan DA, Arakelyan LR, Seferyan TYe. The Effect of Direct Electric Current on Some Parameters of Human Blood Coagulation. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2025;15(4):741-745. doi:10.21103/Article15(4)_OA16 Abbreviations aPTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; FL, fibrinogen level; ISI, international sensitivity index; INR, international normalized ratio; PH, plasma hemostasis; PT, prothrombin time; RT, recalcification time; TT, thrombin time. Introduction To maintain the fluid state of blood with optimal viscosity, the body has a special functional system that includes coagulation and anticoagulation mechanisms, which are normally in a state of balance (hemostasis). It is known that disruption of hemostasis leads to undesirable pathological conditions, such as bleeding or the formation of blood clots. Currently, numerous studies examine the effects of various physical factors on blood physiological parameters. The effects of electric current on the body are used for various purposes, such as electrotherapy, electrocoagulation, muscle stimulators, oncotherapy methods, neuropsychology, and more.1-5 It is known that electric current affects not only tissue cells but also tissue fluids, particularly blood. Hemostasis, one of the primary physiological indicators of blood, can be altered by electrical current, with significant physiological implications when used for therapeutic purposes. Its disruptions are particularly hazardous for patients with concomitant conditions such as cancer, infectious diseases, severe trauma, and diabetes mellitus.6,7 The effects of direct current (DC) on body tissues can be considered the result of simplified basic reactions and phenomena of electrolysis, such as electrode reactions, a reduction in calcium concentration in the medium, and the generation of free radicals.8 Electrolysis of a physiological buffer solution initiates chemical reactions. Combined both half-reactions in electrodes is: 2NaCl(aq)+2H2O(l)→H2(g)+Cl2(g)+2NaOH(aq) 742 A. Z. Galstyan et al. / International Journal of Biomedicine 15(4) (2025) 741-745 During the electrolysis of saline solutions, different compounds form (O3, O2, H2O2, HClO, HClO2, ClO, ClO2, Cl2, H2, HO2-, O2-, H-, ClO-, ClO3-, ClO4-, H∙, O∙, Cl∙, OH∙, HO2∙, 1O2, ClO∙, O2-∙).9-11 These compounds may affect hemostasis.12 Even the electrolysis of saline, which can be considered a simple model of blood electrolysis, has many reactions. Since Scudamore’s work in 1824,13 the effect of DC on blood coagulation has been a subject of inquiry. Hayashi14 reviewed all relevant studies conducted between 1824 and 1964. His paper notes that Schwartz15 found that applying a DC of 4.5 V and 5 mA for 1 hour induced thrombus formation in the superficial femoral vein of dogs. Kravitze and Wagner 16 demonstrated that a DC of 12 to 16 mA applied for 7 to 10 minutes typically resulted in coagulation on diffusely bleeding surfaces. Hayashi also reported that applying 6 V and 4 to 4.5 mA of positive DC for 9 to 12 minutes initiated thrombus formation in the mesenteric plexus blood vessels of rabbits. Recent studies have shown that DC prolongs coagulation time and acts as a non-chemical anticoagulant.17-19 Until now, existing studies have not systematically examined the dynamic changes in hemostasis parameters under the influence of electric current at different exposure time doses. Based on the above considerations, this study aimed to investigate the effects of DC on the main indicators of PH, including prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), thrombin time (TT), recalcification time (RT), fibrinogen level (FL), and plasma pH. It is known that the pH of the medium is crucial for hemostasis; even a minor change of 0.5 can alter the timing of thrombosis by more than 25%.19 The current intensity (mA) required for these effects was also examined. Plasma hemostasis is part of the overall hemostatic system, which includes a cascade of protein reactions in blood plasma and is closely related to the vascular-platelet interaction and the anticoagulant system. Since the traumatic factor of hemostasis change is not present in the case of electric current exposure, it is not considered in this work. Materials and Methods Human plasma was obtained from the Hematology Center named after Prof. R. Yeolyan (Yerevan, Armenia). The purchase was conducted through an open sale transaction. Samples were collected in PVC bags and remained unexposed to any freeze–thaw cycles. CPDA-1 (citrate-phosphatedextrose; RAVIMED, Poland) was used as the anticoagulant. Plasma samples were collected from 10 healthy donors (5 men, 5 women) aged 18–50 years. No personal information was provided beyond sex and age. Equal volumes of individual plasma samples were pooled to create a composite sample. Each experiment was performed in 6 replicates. Thromboplastin with ISI of 1.75 was obtained from Delta LTD (Armenia).Thrombin time reagents were obtained from RPA ‘RENAM’ (Russia). aPTT-Kaolin set was produced by BIOLABO (France). Electrolysis a (...truncated)