Oxidized LDL and C-reactive protein as markers for detection of accelerated atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes

INTRODUCTION High levels of inflammatory markers are associated with an increased risk for development of coronary heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to estimate relations between oxidized LDL (oxLDL), C-reactive protein (CRP) and conventional lipid risk factors for CHD in type 2 diabetics without coronary heart disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS Three groups of subjects were included in the study. 44 well-controlled type 2 diabetics (25 female/19 male; 54.50 +/- 6.54 years); FBG: 5.67 +/- 0.69: HbA1c: 6.5 +/- 1.6%) without clinical signs of CHD; the second group included 24 hypercholesterolemic healthy subjects (14 female/28 male; 51.30 +/- 5.76 years). The control group included 24 normocholesterolemic healthy subjects (17 female/12 male; 48.1 +/- 8.37 years). Lipid profiles were measured by enzymatic methods. OxLDL was measured by a commercially available sandwich ELISA (Mercodia AB, Uppsala, Sweden). Hs-CRP was measured by chemiluminiscence (Immulite-DPC) using Behring Latex hs-CRP assay. RESULTS Serum oxLDL levels were significantly higher in diabetic patients (p<0.05) and subjects with hypercholesterolemia (p<0.01) compared with control subjects. Levels of CRP were significantly increased in hypercholesterolemic subjects, compared with controls (p<0.01). Levels of CRP in diabetic patients also were significantly increased compared to those of controls (p<0.05). In type 2 diabetes oxLDL significantly correlated with CRP (r=0.657; p=0.0001), TG:HDL-C ratio (r=0.690; p=0.0001). In hypercholesterolemic subjects oxLDL significantly correlated with oxLDL:LDL ratio (r=0.788, p=0.0001) but not with CRP. In controls, oxLDL significantly correlated with oxLDL:LDL ratio (r=0.679; p=0.0001, and CRP (r=0.802; p=0.0001). CONCLUSION It is of great importance to identify type 2 diabetics and hypercholesterolemic healthy subjects with high levels of oxLDL and CRP, because they are at increased risk for development of accelerated atherosclerosis.