Diabetes linked with protein ‘marker’ in blood

Prof. Paresh Dandona, director of Diabetes-endocrinology Center of Buffalo, New York and one of the world’s leading experts in the treatment of diabetes and vascular disease, served as the 8th Ricardo Fernando Professorial Lecturer at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel recently.

The highly anticipated lecture is annually done to honor Dr. Ricardo Fernando, acknowledged as one of the pillars in the field of diabetology in the Philippines.

In his lecture, Dandona reported that people suffering from diabetes are also prone to heart disease and other serious complications as evidenced by his team’s findings that a link exists between diabetes and higher levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation in the blood of people with heart disease.

The same inflammation marker has been found to be high among people with diabetes. The presence of high levels of C-reactive protein is a predicted risk factor for cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke.

These findings boost previous claims that diabetes is now considered a heart-disease equivalent because diabetics, even those with apparently healthy hearts, have the same risk of developing a heart attack as non-diabetics with established heart diseases or those who already had a first heart attack.

Their research also showed for the first time that circulating mononuclear cells – the body’s monocytes (the largest type of white blood cell) and lymphocytes – exist in a pro-inflammatory state in obese persons known to be at increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease or both.

"These cells are creating a lot of nuisance in the obese," said Dandona. "They enter the artery and set up atherosclerosis. They activate fat cells to produce more pro-inflammatory factors. They interfere with insulin signaling, causing insulin resistance. They even enter the brain."

The findings of this research provide new knowledge for physicians who are trying to find ways to better treat diabetes and its complications.

High-sensitivity CRP has just been made recently available in the country and is already available in several medical centers.

The 8th Ricardo Fernando Professorial Lecture is an annual event supported by the UERMMMC-Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation Inc. and Philippine Society of Diabetologists, in cooperation with the UE-ISDFI Alumni Association Inc.