Urinary thromboxane A₂/prostacyclin balance reflects the pathological state of a diabetic

Levels of the stable urinary metabolites of thromboxane A₂ and prostacyclin, 11-dehydro-thromboxane B₂ (11-dehydro-TXB₂) and 2,3-dinor-6-keto-prostaglandin F(1α) (2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF(1α)) were measured in diabetics to elucidate the relation between the thromboxane A₂/prostacyclin (TX/PGI) balance and pathological states of diabetes mellitus. 11-Dehydro-TXB₂ and 2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF(1α) were derivatized to methyl ester-propylamide-dimethylisopropylsilyl ether and methyl ester-methoxime-dimethylisopropylsilyl ether derivatives, respectively, and applied to a gas chromatography/selected ion monitoring. The TX/PGI ratios of diabetics were higher than those of healthy volunteers, suggesting the hypercoagulative states of this disease. The ratios showed positive correlations with the levels of blood glucose. The levels of hemoglobin A(1c) and triglyceride were correlated weakly with the ratio. Some of the patients who had relatively low levels of blood glucose also showed high TX/PGI ratios. Furthermore, the ratio increased in the order of the groups 1, 2, and 3; group 1 contained patients who did not take medicine for diabetes, group 2 contained those who took oral hypoglycemic agents, and group 3 contained those who received insulin therapy. These observations indicate that the TX/PGI ratio reflects the pathological conditions of diabetes and is a useful marker, having few different features from other markers that are presently used. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.