Different characteristics of chronic heart failure (CHF) in elderly diabetics and non-diabetics.

Higher plasma concentrations of the N-terminal fragment of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) and the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) have been observed in patients affected by chronic heart failure (CHF). Recent clinical studies have tried to correlate the plasma levels of these biomarkers with severity of the disease. To evaluate the role of NT-pro-BNP, TNF-alpha and C-reactive protein (CRP) in a population of geriatric patients affected by CHF, and to assess their different plasma levels in diabetics and in normoglycemic patients, we enrolled 57 patients affected by CHF: 29 patients were diabetic and 28 were normoglycemic.