Near normoglycemia for 1 year has no effect on platelet reactivity, factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: a controlled trial

Abstract

The impact of prolonged near-normoglycemia on platelet reactivity (spontaneous and induced platelet aggregation), factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was evaluated in a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Twenty IDDM patients with no or only minor clinical signs of microvascular disease were randomly assigned to 1 year of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) or unchanged conventional insulin treatment (CIT). Hemoglobin A1c declined during the 12 month observation period from 7.3 +/- 1.2% to 6.4 +/- 0.9% (2p less than 0.01) in the CSII group, while this measure of glycemic control was unchanged in the CIT group: 7.2 +/- 1.1% vs 8.0 +/- 1.6% (NS). Platelet reactivity, factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor concentrations were identical in the two groups at entry into the study, and no significant changes in these variables were seen in either group. Thus, the present results do not support the concept of increased platelet reactivity following CSII treatment.