Endocrine Abstracts

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is by far the most common complication of type 2 diabetes. Suffering from type 2 diabetes does not only significantly increase the risk of CVD but is also associated with poor survival, both acutely and in the long term, after a myocardial infarction (MI). In fact, total mortality from coronary artery disease (CAD) in subjects with type 2 diabetes without a previous MI is as high as that of non-diabetic individuals with a previous infarction. Regar...

Despite that statin treatment substantially reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, many treated patients still experience a high residual risk. Statins lower LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), with limited effects on other lipid parameters. A meta-analysis from 14 randomised trials conducted in high-risk patients reported that statin therapy is effective in reducing the proportional risk for major vascular events by 21% for each mmol/l lowering of LDL-C. However, on average 14%...

Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance are associated with a complex change of metabolism of plasma lipoproteins that conveys a substantial part of increased cardiovascular (CV) risk of the diabetics. While quantity of lipoprotein particles (lipid concentrations) remain close to normal, their quality (composition) changes markedly. Lipoprotein metabolism in type 2 diabetes differs from normal at three levels. First, the production of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) in th...