Direct beneficial effect of insulin on blood rheological disorders in the microcirculation

Under both the in vivo and in vitro conditions we investigated the insulin effect on the most significant factor disturbing the blood rheological disorders in the microcirculation, the red blood cell aggregability. The in vivo studies we carried out in the 42 insulin treated diabetic patients (diabetes mellitus type II), as well as conducted the in vitro investigations of the blood both of the diabetic patients (24) and of the healthy people (20) where the insulin was added to the blood ex vivo. The RBC aggregability in blood investigated with the "Georgian technique" was found significantly enhanced, by about 100 per cents in the diabetic patients. Under the in vivo conditions insulin administered intravenously decreased the RBC aggregability almost to the normal level in diabetic patients. In addition, in the in vitro studies we found that the insulin lowered significantly the RBC aggregability when it was significantly enhanced by addition of Dextran-500, as well as in the blood of patients with the ischemic brain infarcts. The decreasing effect on the RBC aggregability was observed even in the healthy control group where the RBC aggregability was in a normal range.