Acute effects of sildenafil on flow mediated dilatation and cardiovascular autonomic nerve function in type 2 diabetic patients.

Background: Sildenafil, frequently used as on demand medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), has been suggested to improve endothelial function but also to alter blood pressure (BP) and induce sympathetic activation. In people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a high-risk population, the safety profile and the effects on endothelial function of a maximal sildenafil dose (100 mg) have not been investigated and therefore constituted the aim of our study.

Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial using a single dose of 100 mg sildenafil or placebo has been conducted in 40 subjects with T2DM without known CVD.

Single oral challenge by advanced glycation end products acutely impairs endothelial function in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects.

Objective: The current study was designed to test the acute effects of dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on endothelial function of diabetic and nondiabetic subjects.

Research Design And Methods: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and serum levels of AGEs, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and glucose were assessed before and after a single oral AGE challenge (approximately 1.8 x 10(6) AGE units) in 44 diabetic and 10 nondiabetic subjects.