Purpose: Measurement of Intracellular Calcium (iCa) levels in red blood cells in patients with predisposition to type 2 diabetes (T2D), such as the first-degree relatives of patients with T2D, in comparison with healthy individuals and patients with T2D.
Materials and Methods: Our study comprised of three groups of 25 age-matched, 38-65 years-old persons (58% males): 1.) non-insulin treated T2D patient (body mass index (βμΙ) 28.3±3.4 kg/m2, HbA1c 7.5±1.6%) 2.) first-degree relatives of T2D patients (βμΙ 25.3±3.6 kg/m2, HbA1c 5.3±0.4%) 3.) healthy controls (βμΙ 24.3±3.4 kg/m2, HbA1c 4.9±0.5%). Measurement of iCa was conducted by the method of atomic resonance with the use of a spectrophotometer.
Results: Lower levels of iCa were observed in the relatives of patients with T2D vs. the control group (0.39±0.16 vs. 0.48±0.3 mg/L, p=0.049) and in patients with T2D vs. the control group (0.33±0.21 vs. 0.48±0.3 mg/L, p=0.041). In contrast, iCa levels did not differ between patients with T2D and the first-degree relatives of patients with T2D (p=0.38).
Conclusion: The comparison of iCa levels in the three groups shows a gradual decrease from control group to T2D patients. It is impressive that statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the first-degree relatives of patients with T2D and the control group, and between patients with T2D and the control group, but not between patients with T2D and the first-degree relatives of patients with T2D. It could be reasonably hypothesized that individuals with known predisposition for T2D have a defective genotype that negatively affects intracellular molecular signaling in which calcium is implicated.
I.F. Stergiou: None. T. Didangelos: None. K. Tziomalos: None. Z. Kontoninas: None. N. Raikos: None. T. Vyzantiadis: None. A.I. Hatzitolios: None.