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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Non-invasive Assessment of Microvascular and Endothelial Function
Published on: January 29, 2013
Type 2 diabetes: assessment of endothelial lesion and fibrinolytic system markers
Anna Letícia Soares1, Marinez de Oliveira Sousa, Luci Maria Dusse
1Campus UFMG, Faculdade de Farmácia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate whether endothelial cells are damaged and to evaluate fibrinolytic system function in patients with type 2 diabetes. For this proposal, plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (an endothelial marker of injury), homocysteine (an inductor of endothelial injury), D-dimer (a marker of coagulation cascade activation) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (a fibrinolysis marker) were measured in individuals with both type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, with type 2 diabetes, with high blood pressure and in healthy control individuals. No significant differences among groups were observed for von Willebrand factor and homocysteine plasma levels. The type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure group presented a significant difference to the other groups for D-dimer and also presented high values for plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. The high blood pressure group and type 2 diabetes group presented separately higher values of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 compared with the control group. High levels of D-dimer and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in patients with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure with normoalbuminuria therefore indicate a state of hypercoagulability and hypofibrinolysis, despite no evident microvascular injury supported by normal levels of von Willebrand factor and homocysteine.
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