title: Plaque Characteristics in Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) patients are known to have a high risk of cardiovascular events and their prognosis has been reported to be poor. The present study aimed to compare coronary plaque characteristics among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), those with IGT, and those with diabetes mellitus (DM) by using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study included 101 coronary artery disease patients (mean age, 67.9 ± 10.4 years; 82.4% male). OCT was performed for target and non-target vessels during percutaneous coronary intervention. The patients were divided into the following 3 groups: the NGT, IGT, and DM groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 136 non-target residual plaques were found in 101 patients (27, 30, and 44 in the NGT, IGT, and DM groups, respectively). The size of the lipid core expressed as the mean angle of the lipid arc was significantly greater in the IGT and DM groups than in the NGT group (163.0 ± 58.7°, 170.1 ± 59.3°, and 130.9 ± 37.7°, respectively, P < 0.05). The fibrous cap covering the lipid core was significantly thinner in the IGT group than in the NGT group (77.0 ± 23.4 μm vs. 105.6 ± 47.0 μm, P = 0.040).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The coronary plaques in CAD patients are more vulnerable when having IGT compared to those with NGT, and similar to those with DM. This finding may explain the high risk of cardiovascular events in CAD patients with IGT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inui
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokita
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kuniya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose