Abstract
This study was aimed at examining whether there was any specific change in lipid profile of aortic tissues in diabetic patients. To this end, 8 non-diabetic patients and 4 type-2 diabetic patients, who were freshly autopsied, were analyzed for lipid contents and compositions in the arch, renal, and abdominal portions of aorta. The aortic total lipid content was nearly doubled in the diabetics as compared to the non-diabetics even on the visually non-plaque portion. Characteristically, about a four-fold increase in the triglyceride content was observed in the diabetic aortic tissues as compared to those of the nondicbetic. On the contrary, the phospholipid content decreased significantly in the diabetics and there was an inverse correlation between the aortic sphingomyelin/free cholesterol ratio and total lipid accumulation in the diabetics (r=-0.612, p<0.05). The possibility of increased deposition of circulating triglyceride-rich lipoproteins coupled with phospholipid dysfunction was discussed as characteristic changes of diabetes mellitus
