Remnant-like particles (RLP) were studied in 139 diabetic patients. RLP were those lipoproteins that did not bind to an immunoaffinity gel mixture using anti-apo B-100 and apo A-1 monoclonal antibodies, and were shown to provide a useful index for atherogenic chylomicron and very low density lipoprotein remnants. RLP-positive findings (RLP≥ 5 mg/dl) in diabetics (42%) were significantly higher in prevalence than those in controls (12%) (p<0.001). RLP-positive findings were more frequently observed in diabetics with lower levels of serum total cholesterol (T-ch) and serum triglyceride (TG) than in controls. In general, the higher the T-ch or TG level, the more frequent RLP-positive results were observed both in diabetics and in controls. In particular, all controls were RLP positive when their TG level was greater than 300mg/dl, as were all diabetics whose level was more than 200mg/dl. No relationship was detected between RLP and serum fasting plasma glucose, Hb-A1c, method of intervention or complications of diabetes mellitus. The determination of RLP could be a useful index to evaluate abnormal lipoprotein metabolism in diabetes mellitus.
