Thiobarbituric acid test as a measure of lipid peroxidation in Arab patients with NIDDM

Increased levels of lipid peroxides have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. A convenient and sensitive method for estimation of lipid peroxide concentration is the quantitative estimation of their metabolic end-product malonyldialdehyde (MDA) expressed in mumol/L using the thiobarbituric acid test. The mean fasting MDA value in the plasma of 26 Arab subjects with NIDDM was significantly higher than in healthy controls (14.3 +/- 8.3 vs 2.3 +/- 3.4, p less than 0.001). Within a group of nine diabetic patients with markedly elevated MDA values (greater than 20 mumol/L), eight subjects had retinal changes, four had evidence of coronary artery disease and three had manifest cerebrovascular disease. Macroproteinuria was documented in only three patients in this same group. The mean body mass index was 28.7 +/- 5.4 and the glycaemic control was unsatisfactory with a mean glycosylated hemoglobin of 10.1 +/- 1.5%. The MDA results in an Arabic population were similar to reports in Japanese and British patients and should prove useful as a laboratory test in assessing the severity of the diabetic state, as well as a complementary test in diagnosis and management.