Diabetes Care, Vol 23, Issue 12 1840-1843, Copyright © 2000 by American Diabetes Association
Effects of cyclo-oxygenase inhibition on vasodilatory response to acetylcholine in patients with type 1 diabetes and nondiabetic subjects
DR Meeking, DL Browne, S Allard, J Munday, PJ Chowienczyck, KM Shaw and MH Cummings
Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, Portsmouth, UK. dmeeking@aol.com
OBJECTIVE: Studies examining vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine (ACh)
and its derivatives have been conflicting. Enhanced activation of the
cyclo-oxygenase pathway and increased availability of vasodilatory
prostanoids may occur in type 1 diabetes, and this may compensate for the
observed reduction in nitric oxide (NO) activity We examined the role of
cyclo-oxygenase inhibition on vasodilatory responses in 12 healthy
normotensive type 1 diabetic adults and 12 nondiabetic control subjects of
similar age, sex, and BMI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Forearm blood flow
was measured using a venous occlusion plethysmography technique at baseline
and after brachial artery infusions of ACh (7.5, 15, and 30 microg/min).
Forearm blood flow at baseline and after ACh was then reexamined after
local intra-arterial infusion of indomethacin (0.3 mg/100 ml forearm
volume), a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor. RESULTS: Baseline blood flow in the
diabetic and control groups were similar (2.65 +/- 0.26 vs. 2.59 +/- 0.20
ml/min per 100 ml, respectively; P = 0.4). After indomethacin infusion, the
vasodilatory responses to all doses of ACh were reduced in both the
diabetic (by 25.30 +/- 4.90%) and control group (by 11.23 +/- 5.45%).
However, the reduction in blood flow response to ACh after indomethacin was
greater in diabetic patients compared with control subjects (P = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that vasodilatory, prostanoids are
important in determining endothelial response to ACh in diabetic and
nondiabetic subjects. Increased prostaglandin-mediated vasodilation may
compensate for attenuated responses to NO previously reported in diabetic
subjects. These findings may partly explain the conflicting reports of
endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 1 diabetes.