Pioglitazone Decreases Coronary Artery Inflammation in Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Diabetes Mellitus

• Published in: JACC. Cardiovascular imaging Vol. 6; no. 11; pp. 1172 - 1182
• Main Authors: Nitta, Yoshikazu, MD, Tahara, Nobuhiro, MD, PhD, Tahara, Atsuko, MD, Honda, Akihiro, MD, Kodama, Norihiro, MD, Mizoguchi, Minori, MD, PhD, Kaida, Hayato, MD, PhD, Ishibashi, Masatoshi, MD, PhD, Hayabuchi, Naofumi, MD, PhD, Ikeda, Hisao, MD, PhD, Yamagishi, Sho-ichi, MD, PhD, Imaizumi, Tsutomu, MD, PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2013
• Subjects: Cardiovascular; coronary artery disease; FDG; impaired glucose tolerance; DM; high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; diabetes mellitus; interquartile range; left main trunk; vascular inflammation; 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose; target-to-background ratio; glycosylated hemoglobin; HbA1c; computed tomography; TBR; computed tomography angiography; IQR; standardized uptake value; 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography; CT; pioglitazone; LMT; SUV; IGT; hsCRP; FPG; fasting plasma glucose; positron emission tomography; PET
• ISSN: 1936-878X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2013.09.004

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the effect of pioglitazone with glimepiride on coronary arterial inflammation with serial18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)–positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) angiography. Background Recent studies have shown that FDG-PET combined with CT is a reliable tool to visualize and quantify vascular inflammation. Although pioglitazone significantly prevented the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and reduced the recurrence of myocardial infarction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), it remains unclear whether pioglitazone could attenuate coronary artery inflammation. Methods Fifty atherosclerotic patients with impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 DM underwent determination of blood chemistries, anthropometric and inflammatory variables, and FDG-PET/CT angiography, and then were randomized to receive either pioglitazone or glimepiride for 16 weeks. Effects of the treatments on vascular inflammation of the left main trunk were evaluated by FDG-PET/CT angiography at baseline and end of the study. Vascular inflammation of the left main trunk was measured by blood-normalized standardized uptake value, known as a target-to-background ratio. Results Three patients dropped out of the study during the assessment or treatment. Finally, 25 pioglitazone-treated patients and 22 glimepiride-treated patients (37 men; mean age: 68.1 ± 8.3 years; glycosylated hemoglobin: 6.72 ± 0.70%) completed the study. After 16-week treatments, fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin values were comparably reduced in both groups. Changes in target-to-background ratio values from baseline were significantly greater in the pioglitazone group than in the glimepiride group (–0.12 ± 0.06 vs. 0.09 ± 0.07, p = 0.032), as well as changes in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (pioglitazone vs. glimepiride group: median: –0.24 [interquartile range (IQR): –1.58 to –0.04] mg/l vs. 0.08 [IQR: –0.07 to 0.79] mg/l, p = 0.031). Conclusions Our study indicated that pioglitazone attenuated left main trunk inflammation in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or DM in a glucose-lowering independent manner, suggesting that pioglitazone may protect against cardiac events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or DM by suppressing coronary inflammation. (Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Pioglitazone; NCT00722631 )