Relevence Of The Serum Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 And Carotid Atherosclerosis In Type 2 Diabetics

Objective:In the research, we detect the carotid intima media thickness, the characteristic of atherosclerosis plaques and Crouse score in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by carotid ultrasound, intending to investigate the relationship between serum matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) level and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Materials and MethodsFrom Mar.2009 to Oct.2009 in department of endocrinology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University.89 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in the diabetes group. DM diagnosis is according to 1999 WHO diagnostic standard of DM. All patients had no acute complication, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, abnormal liver and renal function or tumor etc. The group DM was divided into 2 groups based on carotid IMT and carotid plaques. One is diabetics without carotid atherosclerosis (group DM1) and the other one is diabetics with carotid atherosclerosis (group DM2).40 subjects were enrolled in normal control group (group NC). We compared MMP-8 level of these three groups. The group DM2 was divided into 3 sub-groups based on carotid IMT and the characteristic of plaques:the carotid IMT thickening group (group A), the stable plaque group (group B) and the unstable plaque group (group C). We compared IMT, Crouse score and carotid ultrasonic indexes in these three sub-groups and then analyzed the relevence of serum MMP-8 level and carotid ultrasonic indexes.Results:1. SBP, FBQ TG, TC, LDL-C, MMP-8, IMT level in group DM2 were higher than those in group DM1 and NC, DM1 had higher level than group NC (P＜0.05). HDL level in group DM2 was lower than that in group DM1 and NC (P<0.05).2. The serum MMP-8 level had a positive relevence with IMT (r=0.68, P<0.05) and Crouse score (r=0.72, P<0.05).3. The level of MMP-8 in group C was higher than that of carotid group A and group B, and group B had higher MMP-8 level than group A (P＜0.05).Conclusions:1. The MMP-8 level in patients with diabetes mellitus was obviously advanced, which may play a role in the inflammation course of the emergence and development of diabetes mellitus.2. The MMP-8 level was positively related with carotid atherosclerosis, which prompt that MMP-8 is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis.3. The serum MMP-8 level had a positive relationship with the stability of type 2 diabetes mellitus with atherosclerosis plaques, and it would be an index which can predict the stability of the carotid plaques.