[Current techniques for diagnosis of diabetic macroangiopathy]

The present paper deals with the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of peripheral diabetic macroangiopathy. A total of 102 patients (51 males and 51 females) aged 45 to 74 years (mean 63.4 ± 4.0years) who had type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and clinical manifestations of coronary heart disease (CHD) were examined to study endothelial function and the degree and extent ofocclusive lesions in the lower extremity arteries in the neuropathic and neuroischemic forms of the diabetic foot. The study of endothelial function in the reactive hyperemia test demonstrated a significant reduction inflow-dependent vasodilatation in all the examined patients with type 2 DM and CHD as compared with gender- and age-matched CHD patients without carbohydrate metabolic disorders. This is mostly characteristic for patients with type 2 DM, CHD, and femoropopliteal atherosclerosis who showed a 2-fold decrease in flow-dependent vasodilatation as compared with the control patients. Endothelial function more significantly impaired as the severity and extent of diabetic macroangiopathy increased.