Diabetic angiopathy and the progression of vascular calcification

The frequency of atherosclerotic diseases in diabetes is very high. In the occurrence of atherosclerosis the severity of diabetes is not so important. The mild diabetic condition with obesity will be a strong factor to relate with atherogenesis. As mentioned above the atherogenesis in diabetes is slightly complicated, because multiple risk factors accumulate in diabetes mellitus. These factors are hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, smoking, and obesity, It has been clarified that the mechanism of arterial calcification will be same as in bone calcification process which is regulated by the various bone metabolic factors. In diabetes mellitus the characteristic vascular changes is that there is multiple calcification in the various arteries including aorta, coronary artery, and peripheral arterioles. It is considered that the necrosis and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells and the transforming of vascular cells to bone cell or cartilage cell are induced and related to arterial calcification. The other factor of calcification would be inflammatory changes related to atheroma formation.