This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Visonà, A. Articles by Pagnan, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Visonà, A. Articles by Pagnan, A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Wall Thickening of Common Carotid Arteries in Patients Affected by Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: Relationship to Microvascular Complications

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Padova

Luigi Lusiani

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Padova

Andrea Bonanome

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Padova

Gianpietro Beltramello

Diabetic Unit, Castelfranco Veneto Hospital, Italy

Loris Confortin

Diabetic Unit, Castelfranco Veneto Hospital, Italy

Barbara Papesso

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Padova

Franco Costa

Diabetic Unit, Castelfranco Veneto Hospital, Italy

Antonio Pagnan

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Padova

This study evaluates the wall thickness of common carotid arteries and the atherosclerotic involvement of the carotid bifurcations in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), with and without microvascular complications. Seventy subjects affected by NIDDM, and 17 healthy controls were evaluated by means of high-resolu tion echo-Doppler scan. Twenty-six diabetics (Group A) had complications (overnight proteinuria > 500 mg, background retinopathy, sensory neuropathy), while 44 (Group B) had no complications. The two groups were comparable for age, sex, plasma lipid profile, and smoking habit. Arterial hypertension was present in 15 of 26 (58%) complicated patients (Group A) and in 18 of 44 (41%) uncomplicated patients (Group B). None of the patients had a history of cerebrovascular disease.

The authors found that the wall thickness of the common carotid artery was greater and atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid bifurcation were more frequent in diabetic patients with microvascular complications than in uncomplicated diabetics (who had a similar distribution of other risk factors for atherosclerosis) and in nondiabetic controls. These data on the one hand confirm the role of diabetes as an independent risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis and, on the other hand, indicate a correlation between microvas cular lesions and early atherosclerosis in diabetes.

Angiology, Vol. 46, No. 9, 793-799 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/000331979504600905


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?