ABSTRACT
Tissue factor pathway inhibitor [TFPI] is produced and bound to the vascular endothelium that plays an essential role in the regulation of local haemostatic process is to study TFPI activity in diabetes mellitus with microangiopathy. We studied 12 healthy controls [group I] and 36 type 1 diabetics: 20 without microangiopathy [group II], 9 with retinopathy [group III] and 7 with mixed retinopathy and nephropathy [group IV]. We determined TFPI activity by chromogenic assay, albumin excretion rate [AER] by turbidimetric assay for 24 hour microalbuminurea, glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA[1c]] by quantitative colorimetric method, fasting and postprandial blood glucose [FBG and PPBG] by enzymatic method.TFPI activity was significantly higher in group III and IV than in controls [P<0.01], in group III and IV than in group II [P<0.01] and in group IV; than in group III [P<0.01], while there was no significant difference between group II and controls. TFPI activity was positively correlated to duration of diabetes and HbA[1c] in all diabetic groups and to systolic blood pressure and AER in only group IV. TFPI bound to the endothelial cells is released into plasma with the advance of diabetic microangiopathy. An increase in TFPI activity in diabetes probably reflects vascular endothelial damage