Serum triglycerides are a predictive factor for the development and the progression of renal and retinal complications in patients with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: It is controversial that serum lipIds affect the development and progression of microvascular complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: We prospectively followed 297 patients with type 1 diabetes without end-stage renal disease for 7 Years (range: 2-10). Serum lipIds were measured at baseline (total and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerIdes and calculated LDL-cholesterol, Lipoprotein (a)). The primary end-point was the occurrence of a renal event and the secondary end-point was the occurrence of a retinal event, defined as the progression to a higher stage of diabetic nephropathy or retinopathy, respectively. RESULTS: Serum triglycerIde (TG) levels were higher in patients who progressed in nephropathy than in those who dId not [median 1.21 (range 0.41-2.96) vs 0.91 (0.31-11.07) mmol/l; p=0.0037] and in those who developed retinal events than in those who dId not [1.05 (0.46-8.27) vs 0.87 mmol/l (0.31-11.07); p=0.0302], both in the whole cohort and in patients with normoalbuminuria at baseline. After adjustment for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diabetes duration, gender, stage of complications at baseline and glycohemoglobin (HbA1c), the relative risk for progression was 2.01 (95% CI: 1.07-3.77) for nephropathy and 2.30 (95% CI: 1.03-5.12) for retinopathy for patients having serum TG in the highest tertile, compared to the others. This result persisted when only patients with normoalbuminuria were consIdered. CONCLUSION: High triglycerIde levels are an independent predictive factor of both renal and retinal complications in patients with type 1 diabetes.

[Prevention of cardiovascular diseases in type 2 diabetes with aspirin]. / L'aspirine chez le diabétique de type 2 pour prévenir les maladies cardio-vasculaires.

UNLABELLED: THEORY AND REALITY: Diabetes mellitus is known to be associated with excess cardiovascular risk. Prescription of antiplatelet agents such as acetylsalicylic acid would thus appear to be warranted. That is the theory, but the reality is much different. A review of the literature provides evidence on the use of acetylsalicylic acid for primary and secondary preventive care, but conclusions are often extrapolated from studies conducted in the general population. EVIDENCE OF A BENEFICIAL EFFECT IN DIABETICS: The HOT study, conducted in hypertensive patients) demonstrated that acetylsalicylic acid at the dose of 75 mg a day, reduced the rate of major cardiovascular events by 15% (p = 0.03) and of myocardial infarction by 36% (p = 0.02) with no effect on stroke. In diabetic patients (n = 1500), the benefit was even more pronounced. RISKS: The risk of bleeding must be balanced against the beneficial cardiovascular effect. Diabetic retinopathy is not aggravated by aspirin. The data reported in the literature do not however enable any evidenced-based decision on dosing for the diabetic population with numerous cardiovascular risks.