Pioglitazone decreases coronary artery inflammation in impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus: evaluation by FDG-PET/CT imaging
Yoshikazu Nitta, Nobuhiro Tahara, Atsuko Tahara, Akihiro Honda, Norihiro Kodama, Minori Mizoguchi, Hayato Kaida, Masatoshi Ishibashi, Naofumi Hayabuchi, Hisao Ikeda, Sho-ichi Yamagishi, Tsutomu Imaizumi, Yoshikazu Nitta, Nobuhiro Tahara, Atsuko Tahara, Akihiro Honda, Norihiro Kodama, Minori Mizoguchi, Hayato Kaida, Masatoshi Ishibashi, Naofumi Hayabuchi, Hisao Ikeda, Sho-ichi Yamagishi, Tsutomu Imaizumi
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of pioglitazone with glimepiride on coronary arterial inflammation with serial (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) angiography.
Background: Recent studies have shown that FDG-PET combined with CT is a reliable tool to visualize and quantify vascular inflammation. Although pioglitazone significantly prevented the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and reduced the recurrence of myocardial infarction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), it remains unclear whether pioglitazone could attenuate coronary artery inflammation.
Methods: Fifty atherosclerotic patients with impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 DM underwent determination of blood chemistries, anthropometric and inflammatory variables, and FDG-PET/CT angiography, and then were randomized to receive either pioglitazone or glimepiride for 16 weeks. Effects of the treatments on vascular inflammation of the left main trunk were evaluated by FDG-PET/CT angiography at baseline and end of the study. Vascular inflammation of the left main trunk was measured by blood-normalized standardized uptake value, known as a target-to-background ratio.
Results: Three patients dropped out of the study during the assessment or treatment. Finally, 25 pioglitazone-treated patients and 22 glimepiride-treated patients (37 men; mean age: 68.1 ± 8.3 years; glycosylated hemoglobin: 6.72 ± 0.70%) completed the study. After 16-week treatments, fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin values were comparably reduced in both groups. Changes in target-to-background ratio values from baseline were significantly greater in the pioglitazone group than in the glimepiride group (-0.12 ± 0.06 vs. 0.09 ± 0.07, p = 0.032), as well as changes in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (pioglitazone vs. glimepiride group: median: -0.24 [interquartile range (IQR): -1.58 to -0.04] mg/l vs. 0.08 [IQR: -0.07 to 0.79] mg/l, p = 0.031).
Conclusions: Our study indicated that pioglitazone attenuated left main trunk inflammation in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or DM in a glucose-lowering independent manner, suggesting that pioglitazone may protect against cardiac events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or DM by suppressing coronary inflammation. (Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Pioglitazone; NCT00722631).
Keywords: (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose; (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography; CT; DM; FDG; FPG; HbA1c; IGT; IQR; LMT; PET; SUV; TBR; computed tomography; computed tomography angiography; coronary artery disease; diabetes mellitus; fasting plasma glucose; glycosylated hemoglobin; high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; hsCRP; impaired glucose tolerance; interquartile range; left main trunk; pioglitazone; positron emission tomography; standardized uptake value; target-to-background ratio; vascular inflammation.
Copyright © 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: PubMed