title: Effect of insulin treatment on fatty acids of plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids in type 2 diabetes.
abstract: Serum lipoproteins and fatty acid compositions of serum and erythrocyte membrane lipids were analyzed from sixteen Type 2 diabetic subjects with secondary drug failure before and after four weeks' insulin therapy. The insulin treatment clearly improved diabetic control (p less than 0.01), decreased serum total cholesterol (-14%, p less than 0.01), triglycerides (-50%, p less than 0.001), plasma free fatty acids (-28%, p less than 0.01), and especially serum VLDL-triglyceride levels (-62%, p less than 0.001) and resulted in a significant weight gain of patients (1.4 kg, p less than 0.05). Of the individual plasma fatty acids saturated (-32%) and monoenoic (-36%) fatty acids fell more than the polyunsaturated fatty acids of exogenous origin, eg linoleic acid (-11%), other n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (-11%), and n-3 PUFA (-13%) suggesting that the decrease in serum VLDL-triglycerides is mainly associated with the suppression of endogenous fatty acids. Before the insulin treatment but less strongly during it, the contents of linoleic acid were positively and those of dihomogammalinolenic acid, arachidonic acid, and arachidonic acid/linoleic acid ratios of plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids inversely correlated with glycosylated HbA1 levels, suggesting that the conversion of linoleic acid to prostanoid precursor fatty acids is affected by the poor glycemic control in Type 2 diabetic patients.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tilvis
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Taskinen
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Miettinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000032:analysis*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D007328:Insulin; D008074:Lipoproteins; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol