Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Mediators of In�ammation
Volume 2013, Article ID 169420, 8 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/169420
Research Article
Interleukin-1-Beta and Dyslipidemic Syndrome as Major Risk
Factors for Thrombotic Complications in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Oana Bădulescu,
1
Codruța Bădescu,
2
Manuela Ciocoiu,
1
and Magda Bădescu
1
1
Department of Pathophysiology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa,” Universităţii Street,
No. 16, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
2
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa,” Universităţii Street,
No. 16, 700115 Iaşi, Romania
Correspondence should be addressed to Magda Bădescu; magda.badescu@gmail.com
Received 20 September 2012; Revised 24 November 2012; Accepted 7 December 2012
Academic Editor: Fabrizio Montecucco
Copyright © 2013 Oana Bădulescu et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, a known risk factor for accelerated
atherosclerosis and vascular disease. e aim of this study was to show that the connection between DM and other risk factors,
such as dyslipidemia, in�ammatory phenomena, or the development of certain vascular injuries, leads to a high frequency of
thrombotic events in diabetic patients compared to the nondiabetic population. e study included one hundred eighty patients
divided in the following groups: diabetic without ischemic cardiopathy-related disorders (DM), diabetic with clinical or off-
clinical (electrocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound) ischemic cardiopathy-related disorders (DM + IC), and nondiabetic with ischemic
cardiopathy-related disorders (IC). We investigated the following parameters: von Willebrand Factor, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-
cholesterol, interleukin-1-beta, protein C, and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. e results achieved in our study have
revealed the highest thrombotic risk among the groups of diabetic patients, which is in direct correlation with the high values
of interleukin-1-beta and the modi�cations of lipid parameters, acknowledging the data in the literature, according to which
hyperglycemia alters endothelial functions directly and indirectly by synthesis of growth factors and cytokines and generates
metabolic disorders which would explain the high risk for thrombotic events.
1. Introduction
Diabetes mellitus, a disorder with a thrombophilic potential,
became an endemic pathology worldwide, alarming not only
because of its high incidence, but also because of its serious
complications that lead to very costly medical assistance
and even death. Numerous clinical observations [1] empha-
sized the frequent association of high blood pressure, DM,
hyperlipidemia, and thrombotic complications, association
that is likely to have a common pathogenesis-in�ammatory
endotheliopathy.
Hyperglycemia may cause vessel damage through the
following pathways: advanced glycation end product (AGE)
formation, activation of protein kinase C (PKC), and sorbitol
accumulation by way of the polyol pathway [2]. ese path-
ways could be linked by an increased production of super-
oxide anions [3]. e hyperglycemia induced by increased
oxidative stress and receptor for advanced glycation end
products (RAGE) activation increases the activation of
transcription factor-jB (NF-jB) in endothelial and vascular
smooth muscle cells. is transcription factor regulates the
expression of the genes encoding a number of mediators
of atherogenesis such as leukocyte-cell adhesion molecules
and chemoattractant proteins that recruit lymphocytes and
monocytes into the vascular wall. Activation of the NF-
jB pathway may also cause a switch of the endothelial
functions toward a prothrombotic condition that, together
with an altered platelet metabolism and intraplatelet signaling