Assessment of Hyperglycemia, Hypoglycemia and Inter-Day Glucose Variability Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring among Diabetic Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) facilitates the assessment of short-term glucose variability and identification of acute excursions of hyper- and hypo-glycemia. Among 37 diabetic hemodialysis patients who underwent 7-day CGM with the iPRO2 device (Medtronic Diabetes, Northridge, CA, USA), we explored the accuracy of glycated albumin (GA) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in assessing glycemic control, using CGM-derived metrics as the reference standard. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) in diagnosing a time in the target glucose range of 70-180 mg/dL (TIR70-180) in <50% of readings was higher for GA (AUC: 0.878; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.728-0.962) as compared to HbA1c (AUC: 0.682; 95% CI: 0.508-0.825) (p < 0.01). The accuracy of GA (AUC: 0.939; 95% CI: 0.808-0.991) in detecting a time above the target glucose range > 250 mg/dL (TAR>250) in >10% of readings did not differ from that of HbA1c (AUC: 0.854; 95% CI: 0.699-0.948) (p = 0.16). GA (AUC: 0.712; 95% CI: 0.539-0.848) and HbA1c (AUC: 0.740; 95% CI: 0.570-0.870) had a similarly lower efficiency in detecting a time below target glucose range < 70 mg/dL (TBR<70) in >1% of readings (p = 0.71). Although the mean glucose levels were similar, the coefficient of variation of glucose recordings (39.2 ± 17.3% vs. 32.0 ± 7.8%, p < 0.001) and TBR<70 (median (range): 5.6% (0, 25.8) vs. 2.8% (0, 17.9)) were higher during the dialysis-on than during the dialysis-off day. In conclusion, the present study shows that among diabetic hemodialysis patients, GA had higher accuracy than HbA1c in detecting a 7-day CGM-derived TIR70-180 < 50%. However, both biomarkers provided an imprecise reflection of acute excursions of hypoglycemia and inter-day glucose variability.

Validation of Neuropad in the Assessment of Peripheral Diabetic Neuropathy in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Versus the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, 10g Monofilament Application and Biothesiometer Measurement.

OBJECTIVE: Sudomotor dysfunction is a feature of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN). The indicator plaster Neuropad can provide an easy and accurate way to diagnose DPN. The aim of the present study was to evaluate Neuropad's specificity, sensitivity and accuracy in detecting DPN in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). METHODS: A total of 174 patients with DM (79 with type 1 DM, 88 women), mean age 49.8 ± 16.1 years and mean DM duration 17.3 ± 7.7 years were included in the present study. The following methods were used to diagnose DPN: the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument Questionnaire and Examination (MNSIQ and MNSIE, respectively), application of 10 g monofilament (MONO) and measurement of vibration perception threshold with biothesiometer (BIO). Neuropad was applied to both feet in all patients and according to the presence or absence of color change of the sticker, patients were divided in two groups: group A (n = 82, complete change in color from blue to pink, depicting normal perspiration) and group B (n = 92, incomplete or no change, depicting abnormal perspiration). RESULTS: MNSIQ and MNSIE were positive for DPN in 111 and 119 patients, respectively. BIO was abnormal in 109 and MONO in 59 patients. Sensitivity of Neuropad testing was 95% vs. MONO, 73% vs. BIO, 73% vs. MNSIE and 75% vs. ΜNSIQ. Specificity was 69, 81, 90 and 92%, respectively and accuracy of the test was 78, 76, 78 and 83%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Neuropad has a high sensitivity and specificity in detecting DPN vs. MNSIQ, MNSIE and BIO. Neuropad has a high sensitivity but moderate specificity vs. MONO. The accuracy of the test was high in all measurements.

Comparison of Glycemic Markers in Chronic Hemodialysis Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

BACKGROUND: Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among diabetic hemodialysis patients continues to be the standard of care, although its limitations are well recognized. This study evaluated glycated albumin (GA) and glycated serum protein (GSP) as alternatives to HbA1c in detecting glycemic control among diabetic hemodialysis patients using continuous-glucose-monitoring (CGM)-derived glucose as reference standard. METHODS: A CGM system (iPRO) was applied for 7 days in 37 diabetic hemodialysis patients to determine glycemic control. The accuracy of GA and GSP versus HbA1c in detecting a 7-day average glucose ≥184 mg/dL was evaluated via receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: CGM-derived glucose exhibited strong correlation (r = 0.970, p < 0.001) and acceptable agreement with corresponding capillary glucose measurements obtained by the patients themselves in 1,169 time-points over the 7-day-long CGM. The area under ROC curve (AUC) for GA, GSP, and HbA1c to detect poor glycemic control was 0.976 (0.862-1.000), 0.682 (0.502-0.862), and 0.776 (0.629-0.923) respectively. GA levels >20.3% had 90.9% sensitivity and 96.1% specificity in detecting a 7-day average glucose ≥184 mg/dL. The AUC for GA was significantly higher than the AUC for GSP (difference between areas: 0.294, p < 0.001) and the AUC for HbA1c (difference between areas: 0.199, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Among diabetic hemodialysis patients, GA is a stronger indicator of poor glycemic control assessed with 7-day-long CGM when compared to GSP and HbA1c.

Riedel's lobe of the liver: a case report.

Riedel lobe of the liver is a simple anatomical variation, a downward tongue-like projection of the anterior edge of the right lobe of the liver to the right of the gallbladder with its typical case to be rare.We report the case of a 71-year-old woman with typical feature of a nonpalpable Riedel's lobe of the liver, as an incidental finding who was referred for reported hypergammaglobulinemia (22.7% [9%-19%]). Both features were attributed to a chronic inflammation because of an abscess in the right iliopsoas caused by infection due to bilateral hip replacement which underwent revision surgery. This was confirmed by her medical history, the imaging findings combined with elevated C-reactive protein, and by cross-reaction weak positive autoantibodies.Generally, knowledge or suspicion of Riedel's lobe of the liver is important, as it does not always remain clinically latent, as in our case, and it can be complicated by its torsion or hepatic tumors.

Effect of vildagliptin on hsCRP and arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor vildagliptin on high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and arterial stiffness (AS) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). DESIGN: Sixty-four drug-naive diabetic patients, with inadequate glycemic control, participated in this randomized, open-label study. Half of the patients received metformin 1700 mg/d and the other half of them received metformin 1700 mg/d plus vildagliptin 100 mg/d. AS was measured by carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (cfPWV). Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), hsCRP, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), lipid profile, albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR), fasting insulin, C-peptide, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostasis model assessment of ß-cell function (HOMA-ß) were also assessed at baseline and after 6 months. RESULTS: Vildagliptin in combination with metformin had a beneficial influence on hsCRP, HbA1c, C-peptide and HOMA-ß index (p <0.05) but had no effect on cfPWV, BP, BW, BMI, lipid profile, ACR and HOMA-IR compared with metformin alone (p=NS). CONCLUSIONS: We have found that the addition of vildagliptin to metformin for a period of six months decreased hsCRP, improved glycemic control and ß-cell function but had no effect on AS in drug-naive patients with T2DM.

Initially lymphocytic Sweet's syndrome in male patients with myelodysplasia: a distinguished clinicopathological entity? Case report and systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Sweet's syndrome (SS) is an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. It can occur as an idiopathic, drug-induced or malignancy-associated entity. SS is also seen in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) where it may present atypically, both clinically and histologically. In a few rare cases of MDS, lymphocytic infiltrates are the presenting feature of SS. METHODS: MEDLINE and Scopus were the data sources for our review. RESULTS: A clinicopathological subsetemerged of 12 male SS patients with MDS and a mean age of 67.3 years in which the initial SS lesions were lymphocytic infiltrates. However, from 0.5 to 8 years later, sequential biopsies revealed neutrophilic dermal infiltration typical of SS. CONCLUSION: Initially lymphocytic infiltrates in this subset could be attributed either to an early timing of the biopsy concerning the age of the lesion or to the dysgranulopoiesis syndrome. A possible relationship between the dysfunction of the receptor of the granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, the gene of which is located on the pseudoautosomal X-Y region, may exist in MDS patients with initially lymphocytic SS. This could explain the male gender of this subset and might establish initially lymphocytic SS as a distinguished clinicopathological entity for predicting the occurrence and even the prognosis of MDS.

Left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in normotensive type 2 diabetic patients with or without autonomic neuropathy: a radionuclide ventriculography study.

We investigated the relation between diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) and left ventricular (LV) function in 59 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) free of coronary artery disease (CAD) or hypertension. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy was established by ≥2 abnormal autonomic nervous function tests. Left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions were assessed by resting radionuclide ventriculography. Compared with non-DAN patients (n=24), patients with DAN (n=35) had an increased adjusted atrial contribution to ventricular filling (A/V%, 30.1%±8.2% vs 26.5%±5.1%; P=.031), suggestive of diastolic dysfunction (DD). There were no differences between the 2 groups in peak filling rate, first 1/3 filling fraction, ejection fraction, cardiac output, and cardiac index. Patients with diabetic autonomic neuropathy had an increased heart rate (77.8±6.3 vs 69.3±3.3 bpm; P<.0001) and a higher rest LV workload (10,072±1165 vs 8606±1075 bpm mm Hg; P<.0001). Patients with DAN T2DM without CAD or hypertension have DD, increased A/V index, and a higher LV working load than non-DAN patients.

The prognostic efficacy of myocardial perfusion imaging in optimally treated diabetic patients with no manifestations of coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the efficacy of radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in the evaluation of cardiac outcome in optimally treated diabetic patients without manifestations of coronary artery disease (CAD) in relation to the inherent clinical risk. METHODS: Follow-up data were collected from 86 diabetic patients who had undergone adenosine stressing MPI. These patients either had no symptoms or had noncardiac chest discomfort, had a normal resting electrocardiogram, had no known CAD or prior positive stress test results, and were receiving currently recommended therapy. Endpoints were cardiac death, myocardial infarction, new-onset heart failure, and CAD diagnosed by angiography at least 2 months from the MPI, irrespective of subsequent revascularization. RESULTS: Twenty-six (30%) diabetic patients had abnormal perfusion and the remaining had a normal scan. Over a median follow-up period of 32.5 months 14 cardiac events occurred. In patients with normal MPI, the annual cardiac event rate was 4.0% compared with 12.2% in those with abnormal MPI (P=0.008). In multivariate analysis, myocardial ischemia (hazard ratio 5.3; P=0.006), obesity (hazard ratio 6.8; P=0.005), the ALFEDIAM/SFC risk (hazard ratio 6.8; P=0.002), and type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio 5.3; P=0.035) were found to be independent predictors of cardiac events. The former two variables remained independent determinants of the outcome, together with peripheral arterial disease, when a different clinical risk classification system was applied. MPI provided incremental prognostic information over both clinical models formed. CONCLUSION: Adenosine MPI can effectively risk-stratify optimally treated diabetic patients without manifestations of CAD. In this subset, clinical variables can also determine the outcome independently, but MPI adds incremental predictability over them.

Impaired fasting glucose in hypertensive patients: prevalence and cross-sectional analysis of associations with cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND: Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is frequently present in hypertensive patients and might be induced or aggravated by antihypertensive treatment. However, it is unclear whether IFG is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in this population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study in 1,810 hypertensive patients and recorded the presence of IFG, coronary heart disease (CHD), and ischemic stroke. RESULTS: IFG was present in 567 patients (31.3%). The prevalence of CHD or ischemic stroke did not differ between patients with IFG and in patients with serum glucose levels <100 mg/dL. Among patients with IFG, 267 (47.0%) were on ß-blockers, diuretics, or both ß-blockers and diuretics. The prevalence of CHD was numerically but not significantly higher in patients with IFG treated with ß-blockers or both ß-blockers and diuretics than in patients with IFG treated with diuretics or not treated with either ß-blockers or diuretics and patients with serum glucose levels <100 mg/dL (11.1%, 13.6%, 1.4%, 3.7%, and 5.9%, respectively; P=not significant). The prevalence of ischemic stroke did not differ among these groups. CONCLUSIONS: IFG does not appear to be associated with increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease in hypertensive patients, regardless if it is associated with the antihypertensive treatment or not.

Insulin pump therapy in adults.

Restoration of the physiological insulin secretion is a current medical challenge and a dream for patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Continuous insulin therapy using pumps was the first step to the development of artificial pancreas. The aim of diabetes treatment is to achieve strict glycemic control in order to avoid the development of long-term diabetic complications while reducing the frequency of hypoglycemic episodes. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) using an external pump, offers both a better blood glucose stability as compared to multiple daily injections and a broader flexibility in life mode, and reduces the frequency of severe hypoglycemia. The advantages of the insulin pump (consistency of basal delivery, adjustable basal rates, and low insulin depots allowing the reduction of glycemic variability) have contributed to its reported superiority compared with multiple daily injections (MDI). However, experience with CSII indicates that candidates for insulin pump therapy must be carefully selected and strongly motivated to improve their glucose control. Finally, the use of CSII in patients with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 now appears to be a good alternative to the ineffective MDI regimens observed in some of these patients.

Insulin therapy during hospitalization.

Hyperglycemia occurring during hospitalization is a common phenomenon among patients with or without a known history of diabetes mellitus. For several years, hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients had been considered as an accompanying characteristic of the acute disease that resulted in admission. That point of view changed over time mainly because of emerging indications from clinical studies showing that hyperglycemia during hospitalization could aggravate prognosis and increase mortality. Further studies engaged on how hyperglycemia should be treated, yielded results that highlighted the increasing risk of mortality due to hypoglycemia in such efforts and also questioned the initial relation between hyperglycemia during hospitalization and a poor prognosis. Based on the fact that there is still no common ground on what is the best approach on hyperglycemia of hospitalized patients, the best practice remains to follow a different regime with different glycemic goals for different patient groups. In this review, hospitalized patients are divided into three groups; intensive care unit patients (general and cardiac), non-intensive care unit patients (general and cardiac) and peri-operative patients.

Insulin and the heart.

The main role of insulin in the heart under physiological conditions is obviously the regulation of substrate utilization. Indeed, insulin promotes glucose uptake and its utilization via glycolysis. Insulin, promoting glucose as the main cardiac energy substrate, reduces myocardial O(2) consumption and increases cardiac efficiency. Moreover, insulin seems to augment cardiomyocyte contraction, while it affects favorably myocardial relaxation, increases ribosomal biogenesis and protein synthesis, stimulates vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and thereby angiogenesis, suppresses apoptosis, promotes cell survival and finally ameliorates both myocardial microcirculation and coronary artery resistance, leading to increased blood perfusion of myocardium. Thus, insulin acts directly on heart muscle, and this action is mediated principally through PKB/Akt signal pathway. Under pathological conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, myocardial ischaemia, and cardiac hypertrophy, insulin signal transduction pathways and action are clearly modified. In this review we summarize the evidence that the heart is an important target of insulin action and that elimination of these actions is important in disease states.

Plasma neuropeptide Y (NPY) and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) levels in patients with or without hypertension and/or obesity: a pilot study.

AIM: Obesity frequently co-exists with hypertension (HTN). Hypothalamus neuropeptides such as neuropeptide Y (NPY) and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH) interact with leptin, an anorexic peptide produced mainly by adipose tissue and are involved in the regulation of appetite, energy balance and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, possibly contributing to blood pressure (BP) elevation. We compared plasma NPY and a-MSH levels between patients with or without hypertension and/or obesity and the differences in these neuropeptides between patients with or without pathological heart echo findings, aiming to investigate the possible role of these peptides in obesity induced HTN. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 160 non-diabetic, treatment-naïve individuals were randomly recruited from our outpatient clinics. Study population was divided into 6 groups, according to body mass index-BMI (OB=obese, OW=overweight, NW=normal weight) and blood pressure. Waist circumference (WC) and heart rate (HR) were also recorded. A heart echo was performed and plasma NPY and a-MSH levels were measured for all participants. RESULTS: Plasma NPY levels and HR were higher in OW and OB hypertensives compared with NW hypertensives. OW and OB hypertensives had also higher NPY concentrations compared with OW and OB normotensives, respectively. However, in NW patients, plasma NPY concentrations did not differ between hypertensives and normotensives. Patients with central obesity (COB) had also higher NPY levels compared with patients without COB, a difference also observed in hypertensives but not in normotensive patients. Furthermore, plasma NPY concentrations were significantly correlated with BMI, WC, HR, systolic and diastolic BP. Patients with left ventricle hypertrophy had higher plasma NPY levels compared with those with normal findings, but this was not seen in hypertensives. The majority of these differences were also observed in male and female patient populations. In contrast, plasma a-MSH levels were similar in all study groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that NPY may be involved in obesity-related HTN, possibly via increased SNS activity. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the role of both NPY and a-MSH in obesity-related HTN.

Exercise training ameliorates the effects of rosiglitazone on traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of rosiglitazone and/or exercise training on novel cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. One hundred overweight/obese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, with inadequate glycemic control (hemoglobin A(1c) >7%) despite combined treatment with gliclazide plus metformin, were randomized using a 2 x 2 factorial design to 4 equivalent (n = 25) groups, as follows: (1) CO: maintenance of habitual activities, (2) RSG: add-on therapy with rosiglitazone (8 mg/d), (3) EX: adjunctive exercise training, and (4) RSG + EX: supplementary administration of rosiglitazone (8 mg/d) plus exercise training. No participant had diabetic vascular complications or was receiving lipid-lowering therapy. Anthropometric parameters, cardiorespiratory capacity, glycemic and lipid profile, apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apo B, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-18, insulin resistance, and blood pressure were measured before and after 12 months of intervention (P < .05). Both RSG and EX groups significantly reduced glycemic indexes, insulin resistance, blood pressure, and IL-18, whereas they significantly increased high-density lipoprotein, cardiorespiratory capacity, and IL-10, compared with CO group (P < .05). Besides this, exercise-treated patients conferred a remarkable down-regulation in the rest of lipid parameters (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, apo B) and body fat content (P < .05) in comparison with CO group. On the other hand, RSG group rather than CO group considerably increased apo A-I levels and body mass index (P < .05). Notably, the combined treatment group yielded pronounced beneficial changes in glycemic indexes, lipid profile, insulin resistance, blood pressure, IL-10, IL-18, apo A-I, and apo B (vs CO group, P < .05). Furthermore, the addition of exercise to rosiglitazone treatment counteracted the drug-related negative effects on body weight, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol. Rosiglitazone plus exercise training elicited additive effects on body composition, glycemic control, and traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, indicating complementary effects.

Cardiorespiratory capacity is associated with favourable cardiovascular risk profile in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the interaction between cardiorespiratory capacity and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). RESEARCH DESIGN/METHODS: A total of 92 patients with T2DM (40 men, 52 women) performed a symptom-limited exercise test on ergocycle, with continuous gas exchange measurement. All patients were overweight or obese (body mass index >25 kg/m(2)), with poor glycemic control (hemoglobin A(1c) >7%), but free from overt diabetic vascular complications. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure (BP), cardiorespiratory fitness, glycemic and lipid profile, fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), insulin resistance, and 24-h urinary albumin excretion (UAE) were measured. Based on the median Vo(2) peak value, participants were placed into low fitness (LF, n=46) or moderate fitness group (MF, n=46). RESULTS: In univariate analysis, exercise capacity correlated with systolic (r=-0.349) and diastolic BP (r=-0.441), waist circumference (r=-0.345), total cholesterol (r=-0.348), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (r=0.362), UAE (r=-0.486), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) (r=-0.467), uric acid (r=-0.316), and hsCRP (r=-0.217, only in women subgroup) (P<.05). With the exception of the latter three variables, the above associations remained significant after controlling for age and sex in multiple regression analysis (P<.05). Compared to LF group, patients in MF group showed significantly higher levels of HDL and lower levels of BP, waist circumference, hsCRP, and HOMA-IR (P<.05). In addition to this, UAE tended to be lower in fit patients (P=.054). CONCLUSIONS: Low cardiorespiratory fitness seems to be independently associated with most traditional and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in patients with T2DM. Even a moderate increase of cardiorespiratory fitness exerts beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk profile.

Is the anti-hypertensive effect of dietary supplements via aldehydes reduction evidence based? A systematic review.

Growing evidence indicates that insulin resistance and oxidative stress are involved in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. In insulin-resistant states, like obesity and type 2 diabetes, altered glucose metabolism may lead to increased formation of methylglyoxal and other ketoaldehydes. Animal studies have shown that increased levels of endogenous aldehydes may lead to hypertension and oxidative stress. In animal models, the administration of vitamin C, vitamin B6 or alpha-lipoic acid reduced tissue levels of aldehydes, prevented oxidative stress, and lowered blood pressure. The purpose of this review article is to critically evaluate the available evidence for the role of dietary supplements in hypertension treatment.

The anti-inflammatory effects of exercise training in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic inflammation are strongly related to increased cardiovascular risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an aerobic training programme would ameliorate inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 DM. DESIGN: Interventional study. METHODS: A total of 60 overweight individuals with type 2 DM, but without vascular complications, were randomly assigned to either a 6-month aerobic exercise training programme (four times/week, 45-60 min/session), designated as exercise group, or to the control group. All participants were on an oral antidiabetic regimen and none was receiving lipid-lowering medications. Anthropometric parameters, cardiorespiratory fitness, glycaemic and lipid profiles, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs CRP), adiponectin, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-18, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, insulin, reciprocal index of homoeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), body fat and blood pressure (BP) were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. RESULTS: In comparison with baseline and control group, exercise-treated patients improved glucose control, lipid profile, exercise capacity (VO2 peak) and exhibited decreased insulin resistance and systolic BP considerably (P<0.05). Plasma adiponectin, TNF-alpha and body weight changed slightly across treatment (P>0.05), whereas diastolic BP and fat mass tended to decrease (P=0.071 and 0.061, respectively). Exercise training reduced hs CRP (from 0.48+/-0.16 to 0.29+/-0.2 mg/dl; P=0.04) and IL-18 (from 315.19+/-122.76 to 203.77+/-96.02 pg/ml; P=0.02). Moreover, exercise provided anti-inflammatory protection through IL-10 increment (P=0.039) and IL-18/IL-10 ratio downregulation (P=0.014). In multiple regression analysis, alteration in IL-18 was independently correlated with hs CRP and VO2 peak changes (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Aerobic exercise training without significant weight loss improves metabolic profile and exerts anti-inflammatory effects in patients with type 2 DM.