Four-months treatment with dapagliflozin improves endothelial glycocalyx and cardiovascular function in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Abstract Background/Introduction Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) present signs of vascular and endothelial dysfunction earlier compared to healthy individuals. According to clinical studies, SGLT-2i favorably affect cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the data regarding the efficacy of SGLT-2i on cardiovascular markers in patients with T1DM are scarce. Purpose We investigated the effects of dapagliflozin on endothelial and cardiovascular function in patients with T1DM. Methods We recruited in total 30 patients with T1DM and pour glycemic control who were under medication with insulin and received dapagliflozin (n=15) or intensification of insulin treatment (n=15) (control group). We measured at baseline and at four months post-treatment the: a) Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV-Complior; ALAM Medical) b) Central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) c) Perfused boundary region (PBR) of the sublingual arterial microvessels (marker of endothelial glycocalyx thickness) and d) Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) using speckle-tracking echocardiography. Results At baseline, patients among the two groups had similar age, sex, HbA1c and markers of endothelial and cardiovascular function (p>0.05). After four months treatment, patients who received dapagliflozin displayed an improvement in PBR5–25 (−41%, p<0.05), in PWV (−10%, p<0.05), in cSBP (−6%, p<0.05) and in GLS (+5%, P<0.05) compared to baseline. However, no statistically significant changes in PBR5–25, in PWV, in cSBP and in GLS were observed after intensification of insulin treatment (PBR5–25: +3%, PWV: +2%, cSBP: −2%, GLS: −3% at 4 months, P>0.05), despite a similar HbA1c reduction (Table 1). Changes of PBR after four months treatment with dapagliflozin correlated with a concomitant reduction of PWV and cSBP (P<0.05). Conclusions Four-months treatment with dapagliflozin improves endothelial glycocalyx and cardiovascular function in patients with T1DM, independently of glycemic control. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.