Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass level is increased in elderly subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective. lipoprotein-associated phospholipase a2 (lp-pla 2) is extensively expressed by advanced atherosclerotic lesions and may play a role in plaque instability. we selected a group of elderly subjects that underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (tavi) or balloon angioplasty (ba) and separated them into two groups,diabetic and nondiabetic,to compare the level of lp-pla2 mass between them. methods. 44 patients aged 79.6 ± 5.6 years with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis underwent tavi (n = 35) or ba (n = 9). 21 subjects had confirmed type 2 diabetes mellitus. lp-pla2 mass was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (uscn life science,china) before and 3 days after the procedure. results. lp-pla2 mass was significantly elevated in this population (1296 ± 358 ng/ml before tavi; 1413 ± 268 ng/ml before ba) and further increased after tavi (1604 ± 437 ng/ml,p < 0. 01) or ba (1808 ± 303 ng/ml,p < 0. 01). lp-pla2 mass was significantly increased on the diabetic group before these interventions. conclusion. lp-pla2 may be a novel biomarker for the presence of rupture-prone atherosclerotic lesions in elderly patients. levels of lp-pla 2 in diabetic patients may accompany the higher amount of small dense ldl particles seen in these subjects. © 2014 j. fortunato et al.