Vascular disease in pre-diabetes: new insights derived from systems biology
Randy S Sprague, Mary L Ellsworth, Randy S Sprague, Mary L Ellsworth
Abstract
In many cases vascular disease is present before the clinical onset of type 2 diabetes, that is, during the pre-diabetic period when insulin levels are markedly increased. In pre-diabetes, microvascular dysfunction correlates with plasma insulin levels and not blood glucose. Here we discuss the concept that insulin, at levels found in pre-diabetes, contributes to microvascular disease in skeletal muscle by inhibiting the release of the vasodilator, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), from erythrocytes.
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Source: PubMed