Proteins involved in blood vessel dysfunction in type 2 diabetes are identified
Monday, October 6, 2008 - 14:07
in Health & Medicine
According to the American Heart Association, three-fourths of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood-vessel disease. Previous studies have shown that cardiac function is compromised and cardiovascular diseases are increased in people with type 2 diabetes. Before vascular diseases develop in diabetics, blood-vessel cell dysfunction occurs. Using precise microscopes, University of Missouri researchers are dissecting coronary microvessels and testing which proteins are responsible for inflammation that causes blood-vessel dysfunction. By identifying the proteins that play important roles in blood-vessel dysfunction, they hope to develop new treatments for blood-vessel dysfunction in people with type 2 diabetes.