ISSN:
1432-5233
Keywords:
Diabetic angiopathy
;
Endothelial dysfunction
;
Endothelin-1
;
Vascular smooth muscle cells
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract To evaluate the role of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoconstrictor and mitogenic peptide synthesized by endothelial cells, on the endothelial dysfunction in non-insulin-dependent diabetic (type 2) patients, we have measured the circulating ET-1 levels in 25 patients with and without clinically evident vascular complications and in a control group. Circulating ET-1 levels were significantly higher in diabetic patients with angiopathy than in diabetics without angiopathy and in controls (7.02±2.9 pg/ml vs 4.4±1.1 pg/ml and 3.08±0.7 pg/ml, respectively;P〈0.001). No difference was demonstrated between diabetic patients without angiopathy and controls. These findings suggest that ET-1 may be a marker for arterial vascular disease only in patients with overt angiopathy. It is unclear whether it participates in the endothelial injury process or it is merely released from damaged endothelial cells.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00576260
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