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Serum sialic acid changes in type 2 diabetic patients on metformin or rosiglitazone treatment
I U Rahman1, S A Malik, M Bashir
1Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid e Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. marwax07@yahoo.com
What Is Known And Objective:
Serum sialic acid is a recently investigated potential risk-marker for cardiovascular complications. There is a known association between sialic acid and cardiovascular complications in diabetes mellitus. We aimed to investigate the effect of antidiabetic drugs on the serum concentration of sialic acid.
Methods:
We investigated the effect of metformin and rosiglitazone on the concentration of sialic acid in 120 type 2 diabetic patients, divided into a group (n = 60) receiving metformin and a group (n = 60) receiving rosiglitazone treatment.
Results:
Serum sialic acid was significantly higher in patients on rosiglitazone (66·90 ± 8·80 mg/dL vs. 57·6 ± 8·46 mg/dL, P < 0·01) and metformin (61·95 ± 10·49 mg/dL vs. 57·6 ± 8·46 mg/dL, P < 0·04) when compared with control subjects. In addition, rosiglitazone-treated patients showed a significant increase in cardiovascular risk factors, notably total cholesterol (246·45 ± 20·2 mg/dL vs. 170·6 ± 15·1 mg/dL, P = 0·01), triglyceride (178 ± 9·20 mg/dL vs. 149·35 ± 6·31 mg/dL, P < 0·04) and glycohemoglobin (HbA1-c) concentration (8·17 ± 1·43% vs. 4·38 ± 0·96%, P < 0·02) compared with normal control subjects. The patients on metformin also showed significantly higher levels of serum glucose (133·7 ± 9·63 mg/dL vs. 88·35 ± 6·31 mg/dL, P < 0·04) and glycohemoglobin (HbA1-c) (8·23 ± 1·75% vs. 4·38 ± 0·96%, P < 0·02) when compared with control subjects. Comparison of the two groups of patients revealed a significantly higher serum sialic acid (66·90 ± 8·80 mg/dL vs. 61·95 ± 10·49 mg/dL, P < 0·05), total cholesterol (246·45 ± 20·2 mg/dL vs. 192 ± 14·23 mg/dL, P < 0·02) and triglyceride (178 ± 9·20 mg/dL vs. 158 ± 14·51mg/dL, P < 0·05) concentrations in the rosiglitazone-treated patients.
What Is New And Conclusions:
This study suggests significantly higher levels of serum sialic acid and other cardiovascular risk factors in rosiglitazone-treated patients than in metformin-treated patients. The lower sialic acid concentration may explain a better metformin antidiabetic effect than with rosiglitazone.
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