RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Cerebral infarction as a macrovascular complication in patients with diabetes mellitus is frequent. However, mechanisms for the development of cerebral infarction were not well known until today. The aims of this study were 1) to determine the relationship between the fibrinogen B beta 448 polymorphism and fibrinogen levels in patients with cerebral infarction, and 2) to assess usefulness of fibrinogen B beta 448 polymorphism as a marker of cerebral infarction in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: We studied 60 diabetes mellitus patients, 26 diabetes mellitus patients with cerebral infarction, 17 cerebral infarction patients, and 121 normal controls. Fibrinogen B beta 448 genotype was determined by the PCR-RFLP method using restriction enzyme Mnl I. RESULTS: Fibrinogen levels in each patient group were not significantly different from one another. Fibrinogen B beta 448 genotype frequencies of the patient groups did not significantly differ from those of the normal controls. CONCLUSION: This study didn't show the relationship between the fibrinogen B beta 448 polymorphism and fibrinogen levels in patients with cerebral infarction. Moreover, these data didn't suggest the fibrinogen B beta 448 polymorphism as a marker of cerebral infarction in patients with diabetes mellitus. Further studies are needed to find the other polymorphic sites of fibrinogen gene which can affect the levels of fibrinogen.