Improvement in coronary endothelial function is independently associated with a slowed progression of coronary artery calcification in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: To examine a relationship between alterations of structure and function of the arterial wall in response to glucose-lowering therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) after a 1-year follow-up (FU).

Methods And Results: In DM (n = 22) and in healthy controls (n = 17), coronary artery calcification (CAC) was assessed with electron beam tomography and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) with ultrasound, whereas coronary function was determined with positron emission tomography-measured myocardial blood flow (MBF) at rest, during cold pressor testing (CPT), and during adenosine stimulation at baseline and after FU. The decrease in plasma glucose in DM after a mean FU of 14 +/- 1.9 months correlated with a lower progression of CAC and carotid IMT (r = 0.48, P < or = 0.036 and r = 0.46, P < or = 0.055) and with an improvement in endothelium-related DeltaMBF to CPT and to adenosine (r = 0.46, P < or = 0.038 and r = 0.36, P < or = 0.056). After adjusting for metabolic parameters by multivariate analysis, the increases in DeltaMBF to CPT after glucose-lowering treatment remained a statistically significant independent predictor of the progression of CAC (P < or = 0.001 by one-way analysis of variance).

Conclusion: In DM, glucose-lowering treatment may beneficially affect structure and function of the vascular wall, whereas the observed improvement in endothelium-related coronary artery function may also mediate direct preventive effects on the progression of CAC.