Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Metabolic disturbances at the Diabetes Mellitus (DM) leads to structural and functional abnormalities of the cell plasma membrane due to changes in the lipid content and composition, especially phospholipids. Plasmalogens are unique group of phospholipids with alcohol and ether bounds, presented in a few papers. We hypothesis their involvement into pathogenesis of DM.

Material and methods: We studied the content of Plasmalogens in blood plasma (PP) and erythrocytes membranes (PM) by nonorganic phosphorus in 81 DM patients and 14 healthy subjects (HS). In all groups plasma and membranes total phosphorus content, erythrocytes sialidase activity (ESA), glycemia, HbA1c level, arterial blood pressure (ABP) were measured.

Results: Were shown that PP and PM levels reduced at the DM in 4.89 (p’0.01) and in 5.85 (P<0.01) times respectively, compared to HS. These reduction were accompanied with the lower content of total phosphorus in plasma and erythrocytes membranes in 1.5 and 2.6 times, P<0.01 respectively. The glycemia level were increased in 2 times, P<0.01, HbA1c in 1.84 times, P<0.05, whereas ESA were in 9.68 times, P<0.05 higher in DM and suggest about serious metabolic disturbances. Interestingly, reducing of PM showed a linkage with ABP in both DM and HS, whereas reducing of PP and PM were depends from degree of diabetic nephropathy, suggest about involvement of plasmalogens into pathogenesis of DM and also arterial hypertension.

Conclusion: PP and PM content reduced in DM and had a linkage with degree of diabetic nephropathy, whereas reducing only PM depends from ABP in both DM and HS.