Volume : 5, Issue : 10, October - 2016

DRUGS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN DIABETICS

Dr. Dipak Ranjan Das

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;Experts once believed that atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, developed when too much cholesterol clogged arteries with fatty deposits called plaques. . When blood vessels became completely blocked, heart attacks and strokes occurred. Today most agree that the reaction of the body&lsquo;s immune system to fatty build-up, more than the build-up itself, creates heart attack risk. Immune cells traveling with the blood mistake fatty deposits for intruders, akin to bacteria, home in on them, and attack. This causes inflammation that makes plaques more likely to swell, rupture and cut off blood flow. Diabetes increases atherosclerosisrelated inflammation &amp; diabetic patients are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Past work has shown that high blood sugar has two effects on cells lining blood vessels as part of atherosclerosis. First, it increases the production of free radicals, highly reactive molecules that tear about sensitive cell components like DNA, causing premature cell death (apoptosis). This process also reduces the availability of nitric oxide (NO), which would otherwise enable blood vessels to relax and blood flow to increase.1</p>