Artery Research (Nov 2013)
3.4 VASCULAR AGING MAY CONTRIBUTE TO TELOMERE LENGTH IN PATIENTS WITH T2DM
Abstract
It is known that telomere length (TL) shortening is a marker of cell aging, which accelerated and progresses in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), despite the patient’s age, leading to the vascular aging. The aim of the study was to compare the vascular and cellular aging in patients with and without T2DM. Methods. TL was assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 35 patients with T2DM (mean age 61±2,6 years) and in 43 healthy patients in mean age of 51±1,8 years. IMT and PP were determined by ultrasonography in both left and right carotid arteries. AS was appreciated by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) measuring by SphygmoCor (AtCor Medical). Results. All patients were divided into 2 groups by TL – “long” and “short” telomeres. Comparison of vascular aging parameters was carried out in groups with and without T2DM. Results are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. T2DM+ (n = 15) T2DM− (n = 23) p TL 10.2 ± 0.05 10.4 ± 0.1 0.06 PWV (m/s) 10.58 ± 0.1 10.5 ± 0.5 0.913 IMT (mm) 0.904 ± 0.09 0.77 ± 0.03 0.1227 PP (number) 0.886 ± 0.4 0.782 ± 0.2 0.979 Table 1Comparison in patients with “long” TL. T2DM+ (n = 20) T2DM− (n = 20) p TL 9.24 ± 0.1 9.28 ± 0.06 0.735 PWV (m/s) 15.08 ± 1.3 10.7 ± 0.5 0.0151 IMT (mm) 0.87 ± 0,1 0.78 ± 0.1 0.1814 PP (number) 1.125 ± 0.29 0.789 ± 0.22 0.04 Table 2Comparison in patients with “short” TL. Conclusion: in patients with short TL and T2DM the severity of vascular disorders is higher than in healthy people. In contrast, in patients with long TL with T2DM there are no significant differences in the vascular structure as compared with healthy individuals.