Insulin therapy does not interfere with venous endothelial function evaluation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

INTRODUCTION: Endothelium-dependent dilation is improved in insulin-treated diabetic patients, but this effect is probably due to improved glycemic control. The objective of the present study was to compare endothelium-dependent dilation in patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes who are or are not using insulin as part of their therapy. METHODS: We studied 27 patients with type 2 diabetes (11 women, 60.3 years ± 6 years, with HbA1c < 7 percent and no nephropathy), including 16 patients treated with anti-diabetic agents (No-Ins, 8 women) and 11 patients treated with insulin alone or in combination with anti-diabetic agents (Ins, 3 women). Endothelial function was evaluated by the dorsal hand vein technique, which measures changes in vein diameter in response to phenylephrine, acetylcholine (endothelium-dependent vasodilation) and sodium nitroprusside (endothelium-independent vasodilation). RESULTS: Age, systolic blood pressure (No-Ins: 129.4 mmHg ± 11.8 mmHg, Ins: 134.8 mmHg ± 12.0 mmHg; P= 0.257), HbA1c, lipids and urinary albumin excretion rate [No-Ins: 9 mg/24 h (0-14.1 mg/24 h) vs. Ins: 10.6 mg/24 h (7.5-14.4 mg/24 h), P=0.398] were similar between groups. There was no difference between endothelium-dependent vasodilation of the No-Ins group (59.3 percent ± 26.5 percent) vs. the Ins group (54.0 percent ± 16.3 percent; P=0.526). Endothelium-independent vasodilation was also similar between the No-Ins (113.7 percent ± 35.3 percent) and Ins groups (111.9 percent ± 28.5 percent; P=0.888). CONCLUSIONS: Subcutaneous insulin therapy does not interfere with venous endothelial function in type 2 diabetes when glycemic and blood pressure control are stable.

Inflamación y disfunción endotelial en pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca crónica / Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic heart failure

Background: In chronic heart failure (CHF), endothelial dysfunction (ED) is a consequence of an imbalance of vascular tone regulating substances. The relationship between ED and inflammation has not been fully investigated. Aim: To assess the association between inflammation and ED in CHF. Material and methods: Forty two patients aged 56±14 years (80 percent male) with a CHF in functional capacity II-III (New York Heart Association) and an ejection fraction (FE) <40 percent were consecutively studied. Patients were classified according to the presence or absence of ED, evaluated by reactive vasodilation measured by ultrasound, after brachial artery compression. Circulating levels of highly sensitive C reactive protein (usCRP), tumor necrosis factor a (TNFá) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined by ELISA. A group of 15 healthy subjects of similar age, were studied as controls. Results: Sixty seven percent of patients had ED. Compared to controls, patients with CHF had higher usCRP (0.58±0.4 and 4.9±7.1 mg/dl respectively, p <0.01) and IL-6 (1.38±0.06 and 3.1±1.7 mg/dl respectively, p <0.01). Compared to patients without ED, patients with CHF and ED had higher levéis of usCRP (3.0±0.4 and 6.0±5.7 mg/dl respectively, p <0.01) and TNFá (0.31±0.26 and 1.0±1.1 pg/ml, p =0.02). No differences in IL-6 were found between CHF groups. Conclusions: In CHF patients, the presence of ED was associated with increased levéis of inflammatory markers.

O endotélio na síndrome metabólica / The endothelium in the metabolic syndrome

O endotélio é responsável pela manutenção da homeostase vascular. Em condições fisiológicas, mantém o tônus vascular, o fluxo sangüíneo laminar, a fluidez da membrana plasmática, o equilíbrio entre coagulação e fibrinólise, a inibição da proliferação e da migração celulares e o controle da resposta inflamatória. A disfunção endotelial é definida como uma alteração do relaxamento vascular por diminuição da biodisponibilidade de fatores de relaxamento derivados do endotélio, principalmente o óxido nítrico (NO). Estas respostas vasomotoras anormais ocorrem na presença de inúmeros fatores de risco para a aterosclerose. A síndrome metabólica é considerada um estado de inflamação crônica que se acompanha de disfunção endotelial e ocasiona aumento na incidência de eventos isquêmicos cardiovasculares e elevada mortalidade. Essa revisão abordará o processo fisiológico de regulação da função vascular pelo endotélio, os métodos disponíveis para avaliação in vivo da disfunção endotelial e as terapias capazes de melhorar a função vascular e conseqüentemente minimizar o risco cardiovascular dessa síndrome tão prevalente no nosso meio.

The endothelium is responsible for the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. In physiological conditions it acts keeping vascular tonus, laminar blood flow, plasmatic membrane fluidity, the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis and the inhibition of cellular proliferation, migration and the inflammatory response. Endothelial dysfunction is defined as an alteration of vascular relaxation induced by reduction of endothelium-derived relaxing factors (ERRFs), mainly nitric oxide. These abnormal vasomotor responses occur in the presence of various risk factors for atherosclerosis. The metabolic syndrome is considered a state of chronic inflammation accompanied of endothelial dysfunction causing an increased incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events and high mortality. This revision will encompass the physiological process of vascular function regulation, methods for in vivo assessment of endothelial dysfunction and therapies capable to improve vascular function and consequently minimize the cardiovascular risk due to metabolic syndrome.

Glitazonas e síndrome metabólica: mecanismos de ação, fisiopatologia e indicações terapêuticas / Glitazones and the metabolic syndrome: mechanism of action, pathophysiology and therapeutic indications

O diabetes mellitus (DM) é considerado um problema de saúde pública em países devido às suas complicações crônicas macro e microvasculares, com grande impacto na morbimortalidade dos pacientes. A doença é o estágio final de uma síndrome crônica e progressiva, cujas anormalidades fisiopatológicas iniciam-se anos antes do diagnóstico clínico da doença. A síndrome metabólica (SM) é conseqüente ao aumento mundial da prevalência de obesidade. O DM é freqüentemente associado com condições clínicas e laboratoriais que fazem parte da SM, como a obesidade, hipertensão arterial, dislipidemia e microalbuminúria, também fatores de risco cardiovascular. Estudos populacionais demonstram aumento na prevalência de todos os fatores que compõem esta síndrome do pré-diabetes ao DM manifesto, resultando em elevada prevalência de doença cardiovascular e morbimortalidade. Estima-se que >80 por cento dos pacientes com DM apresentem SM. As glitazonas são agonistas PPAR-gama que melhoram a sensibilidade insulínica. Estas drogas induzem à transcrição de genes relacionados ao metabolismo glicídico e lipídico e à expressão de proteínas inflamatórias e endoteliais associadas com o processo aterosclerótico, resultando em melhora da função endotelial. Entretanto, algumas questões relacionadas às glitazonas merecem mais estudos, como a causa de seus efeitos colaterais (ganho de peso, edema e desenvolvimento de insuficiência cardíaca congestiva).

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries due to its chronic complications, at the macro or microcirculation, with great impact on mortality and morbidity in all patients. The disease is considered the end of a pathophysiologic process involving peripheral and hepatic insulin resistance and reduced insulin secretion that have been started years before the clinical diagnosis. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a disorder that results from the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide. DM is frequently associated with clinical and laboratory features of MS, like abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and microalbuminuria that are also risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Populational studies have demonstrated increasing prevalence of all the features of MS from pre-diabetes to clinical DM resulting in a great risk of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of MS in DM type 2 is estimated to be >80 percent. Glitazones are PPAR-gamma agonists that improve insulin sensitivity. These drugs induce the transcription of genes related to glucose and lipid metabolism, and expression of inflammatory and endothelial proteins associated with atherosclerosis process resulting in an improvement in endothelial function. However several questions need to be clarified regarding the glitazones, in special those associated with their adverse effects such as weight gain, edema and heart failure.

Hiperhomocist(e)inemia / Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia

A través de numerosos datos derivados de observaciones epidemiológicas y experimentales, se ha establecido que existe una correlación positiva entre la hiperhomocist(e)inemia (HH(e)) y las enfermedades vasculares. Los datos clínicos confirman que la homocisteína (Hcy) es un factor de riesgo independiente de afecciones arteriales oclusivas (coronaria, cerebrovascular y periféricovascular) así como también trombosis venosa periférica. Este aminoácido contiene un sulfhidrilo y se forma por la desmetilación de la metionina. Es normalmente catalizado a cistationina por la enzima cistationina ß-sintetasa (CBS), dependiente de fosfato de piridoxal. Homocisteína también es remetilada a metionina por las enzimas 5-metiltetrahidrofolato-Hcy metiltransferasa (metionina sintetasa), dependiente de vitamina B12 y betaína-Hcy metiltransferasa. Estados nutricionales tales como deficiencias en vitamina B12, vitamina B6 o folato y defectos genéticos de las enzimas CBS o 5,10-metilentetrahidrofolato reductasa, pueden contribuir al aumento de los niveles plasmáticos de Hcy. La patogénesis del daño vascular inducido por Hcy puede ser multifactorial: daño directo sobre el endotelio, aumento de la peroxidación de lipoproteínas de baja densidad, incremento de tromboxano A2 plaquetario o menor activación de la proteína C. En el presente trabajo, se describen los más recientes estudios acerca de la patogénesis de la HH(e) y las implicancias para una óptima terapia