Vitamine voor beter goed cholesterol voor diabetici*
Uit een kleine Zwitserse studie lijkt het dat aanvulling met vitamine B3 in de vorm van niacine wel eens van groot belang kan zijn voor mensen met diabetes type-2. Diabetici hebben niet alleen vaak lage waarden goed
cholesterol (HDL) maar ook nog eens slechter goed cholesterol (HDL). Normaal zorgt het goede cholesterol (HDL) voor o.m. de bescherming van de bloedvaten door het reduceren van schade veroorzakende chemische stoffen, het flexibeler maken van de vaten en het reduceren van schade aan de vaatwanden. Bij diabetici is deze bescherming door HDL duidelijk verstoord en bij hen is het nog belangrijker om de waarden HDL te verhogen. In de studie kregen de deelnemers of een placebo of dagelijks 1.500 mg
niacine. Na 3 maanden bleken de waarden HDL duidelijk verhoogd en waren de bloedvat beschermende eigenschappen ook duidelijk verbeterd.
Good Cholesterol Not As Protective In People With Type 2 Diabetes
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol, isn't as protective for people with type 2 diabetes, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
HDL carries cholesterol out of the arteries, and high levels are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. HDL also helps protect blood vessels by reducing the production of damaging chemicals, increasing the vessels' ability to expand, and repairing damage to the vessel lining.
Researchers at the University Hospital Zurich and the Medical School of Hannover in Germany and Switzerland compared the vessel-protecting action of HDL taken from 10 healthy adults with that of 33 patients who had type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes having low HDL levels (under 40 mg/dL in men and 50mg/dL in women). The diabetes patients were taking cholesterol-lowering medication. In laboratory testing, investigators found that the protective benefits on blood vessels were "substantially impaired" in HDL from the diabetic
patients.
The diabetics were then randomized to receive either a placebo or extended-release niacin (1500 milligrams/day), a medication that raises HDL cholesterol while reducing other blood fats. After three months, patients receiving extended-release niacin had increased HDL levels, and markedly improved protective functions of HDL in laboratory testing as well as improved vascular function.
However, because of the sample size and other factors that can't be excluded, more research is needed to determine if niacin should be recommended for diabetic patients.
Co-lead authors are Sajoscha A. Sorrentino, M.D., and Christian Besler, M.D. Ulf Landmesser, M.D., is the senior and corresponding author.
Funding and author disclosures are on the manuscript.
Source: Bridgette McNeill
American Heart Association (Februari 2010)
