Increased myocardial fatty acid metabolism in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Pilar Herrero, Linda R. Peterson, Janet B. McGill, Stanley Matthew, Donna Lesniak, Carmen Dence, Robert J. Gropler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

224 Scopus citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine if myocardial fatty acid utilization (MFAU) and myocardial fatty acid oxidation (MFAO) are increased in diabetic patients. BACKGROUND: Experimental models of diabetes mellitus demonstrate that MFAU and MFAO are increased, and that this dependence on myocardial fatty acid metabolism may be detrimental to cardiac function. Whether similar metabolic changes occur in humans with diabetes mellitus is unclear. METHODS: Eleven healthy non-diabetic control patients (5 women, ages 25 ± 5 years) and 11 otherwise healthy patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) (8 women, ages 36 ± 10 years, HbA1c 8.4 ± 1.9%) underwent positron emission tomography for the determination of myocardial blood flow (MBF); myocardial oxygen consumption (MVo2); myocardial glucose utilization (MGU); and MFAU, MFAO, and %MFAO. RESULTS: Plasma lactate, insulin, and MBF levels were similar between the two groups. However, plasma glucose (5.71 ± 0.98 μmol/ml vs. 5.28 ± 0.65 μmol/ml, p = 0.04), free fatty acid levels (0.60 ± 0.24 μmol/ml vs. 0.19 ± 0.07 μmol/ml, p < 0.0001), and MVo2 (6.64 ± 2.21 vs. 4.51 ± 1.39 μmol/g/min, p = 0.007) levels were higher in the T1DM subjects. Furthermore, compared with control patients, T1DM subjects exhibited higher MFAU (213 ± 135 nmol/g/min vs. 57 ± 28 nmol/g/min, p = 0.0004), MFAO (206 ± 131 nmol/g/min s. 50 ± 26 nmol/g/min, p = 0.0002), and %MFAO (94 ± 6% vs. 81 ± 19%, respectively, p = 0.04). In contrast, MGU was lower in T1DM subjects than in controls (207 ± 108 nmol/g/min vs. 403 ± 191 nmol/g/min, p = 0.0008). CONCLUSIONS: Humans with diabetes mellitus exhibit increased MFAU and MFAO and reduced MGU consistent with observations obtained in experimental models of diabetes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)598-604
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of the American College of Cardiology
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 7 2006

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Increased myocardial fatty acid metabolism in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this