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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objectives: The aim or the study is to study the role of osteoprotegerin (OPG) in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients with microalbuminuria as an early marker of atherosclerosis. Background: OPG is a bone-related glycopeptide produced by vascular smooth muscle cells because of arterial damage. OPG is a glycoprotein that is part of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily mainly involved in bone metabolism, but it is also found in various other tissues such as vascular smooth muscle cells. Participants and methods: The study included 80 individuals divided into three groups: group I included 20 T2DM patients without microalbuminuria, group II included 40 T2DM patients with microalbuminuria, and group III included 20 healthy individuals as controls. For all participants, the following were performed: assessment of history, clinical examination including BMI, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, and assessment of fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, serum creatinine and urea, microalbumin in urine, serum OPG, and carotid artery duplex for measurement of carotid intima media thickness (CIMT). Results: Group II had significantly higher values of fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, serum creatinine and urea, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and CIMT compared with groups I and III. OPG levels were significantly higher in diabetics than in the controls; the highest level was observed in group II (10.49 ± 3.17), followed by group I (6.24 ± 1.10), and group III (3.66 ± 1.88). OPG levels were significantly correlated to CIMT, urea, creatinine, and lipid profile. Conclusion: OPG could be used as an early marker of atherosclerosis in patients with T2DM, especially those with microalbuminuria.

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