Research Article
Published: 29 December, 2017 | Volume 1 - Issue 1 | Pages: 060-063
Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation play a key role in the pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy; Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for nitric oxide synthase, when BH4 is reduced to dihydrobiopterin (BH2), endothelial dysfunction is induced.
Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the levels of biopterins with albuminuria in type-2 diabetic hypertensive patients.
Methods: We studied 30 hypertensive type-2 diabetic patients in whom biopterins levels were measured by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Additionally, 24 h urinary albumin excretion was also measured (nephelometry). The levels of biopterins and albuminuria were correlated with the Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results: We did not find a significantly correlation between biopterins levels and albuminuria, However, we found a significantly inverse correlation (R= -0.498, p<0.005) between the BH4/BH2 ratio and albuminuria.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the BH4/BH2 ratio instead of biopterins levels may be a marker of nephropathy in hypertensive type-2 diabetic patients.
Read Full Article HTML DOI: 10.29328/journal.jcn.1001009 Cite this Article Read Full Article PDF
Tetrahydrobiopterin; Dihydrobiopterin; BH4/BH2 ratio; Albuminuria; Endothelial dysfunction
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