The importance of the expression of leukocyte and thrombogenic markers in the atherogenesis

Inflammatory and prothrombotic factors play a crucial role in the atherogenesis. Dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus as well are associated with the endothelial and leukocyte activation, which facilitate the inflammatory infiltration of the subendothelial space and deteriorate endothelial dysfunction, and thus contribute to the development of premature atherosclerosis. Furthermore, diabetes is associated with a number of platelets and coagulation factors abnormalities that participate in atherogenesis by other mechanisms and may be involved in the acute atherothrombotic events progression. Therefore, the factors that could favourably influence these actions become the subject of interest. In this work, we examined leukocyte expression of cell adhesion molecules in patients with hypercholesterolemia and type 2 diabetes, and thrombogenic molecules on leukocytes in type 2 diabetes, and also soluble endothelial and thrombogenic markers. In these patient groups, we investigated the effect of lipid lowering and antidiabetic treatment on these markers. Patients with severe hypercholesterolemia were examined at the baseline and after 10 weeks of atorvastatin treatment. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined at baseline and after 5 months of rosiglitazone treatment. Both patient groups were..