Abstract
To assess the relationship between cytokines and diabetic complications, IL-1βand TNF-αconcentrations of peripheral blood were measured in NIDDM patients. The presence of microangiopathy was determined by positive simple/proliferative diabetic retinopathy, or persistent proteinuria. The presence of macroangiopathy was also estimated by positive findings of electrocardiography, cardiac catheter methods, brain CT/MRI, or deterioration of pulsation in the lower extremities. Concentrations of IL-1βand TNF-αwere measured with an ELISA system. As a result, TNF-αwas higher (2116±1074 vs.1406±918pg/m/, p<0.05) in the patients with macroangiopathy than in those without macroangiopathy, whereas IL-1βwas not different IL-1β and TNF-αlevels were not affected by the presence of diabetic microangiopathy. These results suggest that TNF-a might contribute to the development of diabetic macroangiopathy.
