We hypothesized that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, -9, and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1, -2 (TIMP-1, -2) would be abnormal in diabetes and in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We measured MMP-2, -9, and TIMP-1, -2 plasma levels in healthy subjects (controls), in type 2 diabetic patients, in nondiabetic patients with ACS (ACS) and in diabetic patients with ACS (DACS). We enrolled 165 controls, 181 diabetic patients, 78 ACS, and 46 DACS. We measured also BMI (body mass index), HbA(1c) (glycated hemoglobin) FPG (fasting plasma glucosa), FPI (fasting plasma insulin), HOMA index (homeostasis model assessment index), SBP (systolic blood pressure), DBP (diastolic blood pressure), TC (total cholesterol), LDL-C (low density lipoprotein cholesterol), HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), Tg (triglycerides), Lp(a) (lipoprotein(a)) PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), Hct (homocysteine), Fg (fibrinogen), and hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). A significant increase of BMI was observed in the diabetic group, in ACS and DACS patients compared to controls. A significant increase of SBP and DBP resulted in the diabetic and DACS groups, while only SBP improvement was present in ACS patients with respect to controls. A decrease in SBP and DBP was observed in the ACS group, while SBP variation was present in DACS patients compared to diabetics, and DBP increase was obtained in the DACS group with respect to ACS patients. TC, LDL-C, Tg, and Lp(a) increase was present in diabetics, while TC, Tg, and Lp(a) improvement was present in ACS and DACS patients with a significant decrease of HDL-C levels in diabetic, ACS, and DACS groups compared to controls. A decrease in LDL-C was obtained in ACS and DACS groups, while HDL-C increase was observed in these patients with respect to diabetics. Tg levels were higher in the DACS group compared to diabetics and ACS patients, respectively. Increases in PAI-1, Hct, Fg, and hs-CRP were present in diabetic and DACS groups, while PAI-1, Hct, and hs-CRP improvement was obtained in ACS patients with respect to controls. Higher PAI-1 levels came about in ACS and DACS groups, while HCT and Fg levels were lower in ACS patients compared to diabetics. An increase in Fg was present in the DACS group with respect to ACS patients. A decrease in Hs-CRP was observed in DACS patients compared to diabetics and the ACS group, respectively. Higher MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 levels were present in diabetic, ACS, and DACS patients compared to controls. Significant MMP-2, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 increases were observed in ACS and DACS groups, while MMP-9 decreased in these patients compared to diabetics. In conclusion, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 plasma levels were higher in diabetic, ACS, and DACS patients, which may reflect abnormal extracellular matrix metabolism in diabetes and in acute coronary syndrome.

The authors hypothesized that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, -9, and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, -2 would be abnormal in acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). MMP-2, -9, and TIMP-1, -2 plasma levels were measured in diabetic patients with ACSs compared to nondiabetic patients with ACSs. A total of 46 diabetic and 78 nondiabetic patients with ACSs were enrolled. The following parameters were measured: body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting plasma insulin (FPI), homeostasis model assessment index (HOMA index), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (Tg), lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), homocysteine (Hct), fibrinogen (Fg), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and plasma levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Significant HbA1c, FPG, FPI, HOMA index, DBP, Tg, Hct, and Fg increases were present in the diabetic group with ACSs, whereas hs-CRP was lower in these patients compared to nondiabetic patients with ACSs. MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 plasma levels were higher in diabetic patients with ACSs compared to nondiabetic patients with ACSs. MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 plasma levels were increased in diabetic patients with ACSs, which may reflect abnormal extracellular matrix metabolism in diabetes during acute event.

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The rosiglitazone-metformin combination significantly improved the long-term control of all insulin resistance-related parameters compared with the glimepiride-metformin combination. However, both combinations were associated with a slight but statistically significant improvement in PAI-1 value, related to a similar reduction in insulin resistance.

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] level is a newly established vascular risk factor which has been suggested to play a role in dementia. However, the majority of Lp(a) cell-to-cell interactions are mediated by its specific apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] moiety. This suggests that the size polymorphism of apo(a) may be of importance in conveying the Lp(a)-related risk. Specifically, we postulated that variation in apo(a) isoform size may lead to increased risk of vascular dementia (VaD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), stroke, or all three of them. Under a case-control design we compared Lp(a) plasma levels and the distribution of apo(a) phenotypes in groups of subjects consisting of 50 VaD patients, 162 sporadic AD patients, 95 non-demented stroke patients (NDS), and 105 normal controls. The prevalence of small-sized apo(a) isoforms in the VaD group was significantly higher than that in the stroke and normal control groups, with an odds ratio of 5.29 (95% CI 2.24–12.49, p = 0.0001) for the development of VaD for individuals with at least one apo(a) isoform of low molecular weight (LMW). Furthermore, the possession of at least one small-sized apo(a) isoform significantly increased the risk of AD to 1.92 (95% CI 1.02–3.61, p = 0.0434). Our results demonstrate that possession of at least one LMW apo(a) isoform is significantly associated with dementia and specifically offer new evidence of a strong association between the lipoprotein system and post-stroke dementia.