الفهرس 
DIABETES MELLITUSOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 154 |  |  |
| | | from | 154 | | |
Abstract
Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is a recently identified inhibitor of bone resorption. Recent studies indicate that OPG is also associated with endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. Aim: to investigate the relationship between plasma OPG levels and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in Type 1 diabetic patients. Aim: Is to determine the relation between plasma OPGlevels in diabetic nephropathy in Type 1 diabetes and to correlate the plasma levels of OPG with severity of nephropathy. Methodology:
A cross-sectional study performed on 40 patients with type 1 diabetes; Patients equally divided into two groups according to UAE: normoalbuminuric diabetic patients (Group A) and microalbuminuric diabetic patients (Group B). Both groups were compared with age and sex matched healthy controls. All patients were thoroughly evaluated. Assessment of kidney function for diabetic patients included: serum creatinine, urinary albumin excretion, GFR and assessment of OPG level using ELISA. Results: The plasma OPG levels were significantly elevated in patients with microalbuminuria (176.39 ± 25.05 pg/ml) compared with patients with normoalbuminuria (154.73 ± 16.66 pg/ml) and control subjects (44.76 ± 8.7 pg/ml). The plasma osteoprotegerin level had a positive correlation with patients’ age, duration of disease, HbA1C and UAER. Conclusions: Plasma OPG levels are significantly associated with UAE in Type 1 diabetic patients. The plasma values of osteoprotegerin, in Type 1 diabetic patients with nephropathy, gradually increased with the severity, so there is an association between plasma osteoprotegerin levels and the presence and severity of diabetic nephropathy.