Abstract
Unlike diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance, it is not clear whether the subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are at increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The CD40-CD40 ligand interaction is involved in the mechanism of atherosclerosis. We investigated whether soluble CD40L (sCD40L) as well as high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are increased in subjects with IFG having no confounding factors for inflammation or atherosclerosis. Twenty four IFG subjects with no additional disorders and 40 appropriate healthy controls were studied. sCD40L and hsCRP levels in the IFG and control groups were similar. Blood pressures, total and LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were also similar, whereas HDL-cholesterol was lower and HOMA-IR indexes were higher in the IFG group. Though the sample size was small, the present data show that sCD40L seems not to alter in subjects with IFG suggesting that it might not be an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic progressive disease, which results in vascular complications due to macro- and microangiopathy [1]
Soluble CD40 ligand (CD40L) levels in subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and healthy controls were not different (P = .14) (Figure 1). high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were comparable in the two groups (P = .29)
Subjects with IFG had similar plasma soluble CD40L (sCD40L) concentrations when compared to healthy individuals with normal glucose tolerance. hsCRP levels were not significantly different in the two groups as well
Summary
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic progressive disease, which results in vascular complications due to macro- and microangiopathy [1]. Microangiopathy manifests itself as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy, whereas macroangiopathy is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis, which affects coronary, carotid, and peripheral arteries, and results in acute coronary syndrome, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) are intermediate metabolic states between normal and diabetes mellitus [2]. IGT has been linked to vascular complications by many authors, which was explained by the increase in 2-h glucose [4,5,6]. Whether the subjects with IFG are at increased risk of vascular complications is not clear [7]
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