Mesoglycan, Vascular Reactivity and Metabolic Syndrome

Overview

The purpose of the study was to characterize the action of mesoglycan on vascular endothelium through the non-invasive assessment of vascular reactivity humeral artery by comparing effects of mesoglycan on Flow Mediated Dilatation (FMD) of the humeral artery between a group of patients with metabolic syndrome assuming placebo and a group of patient with metabolic syndrome assuming mesoglycan; firstly after administration of the drug/placebo intramuscularly, and then, in a study of medium-term after oral intake of drug/placebo. The selection of patients with metabolic syndrome is related to the fact that this syndrome is associated with alterations in endothelial function and a high incidence of cardiovascular events. So it is a condition that offers the opportunity to explore the hypothesis that the mesoglycan may have a favorable effect on early vascular alterations that precede clinical events.

The subjects were enrolled in a double blind randomized way, according to a 2: 1 ratio, to intramuscular treatment with mesoglycan or placebo. Patients performed the study of the Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD) according to the following scheme: * FMD baseline * FMD 2 hours after the administration of 2 vials of mesoglycan or placebo intramuscularly * FMD 6 hours after intramuscular administration. Nextly, both patients treated with mesoglycan vials and placebo vials continued therapy for assuming mesoglycan or placebo, per os, bis in die, for 90 days. At the end of this period of oral therapy (mesoglycan or placebo in a 2: 1 ratio), all patients performed FMD again. The patients who were taking any specific therapy (eg antihypertensive drugs) the Placebo was administered in addition to their standard therapy. The vascular reactivity evaluation adopted was the Flow Mediated Dilatation (FMD). After a period of fasting and rest for at least 6 hours, the study of FMD was performed using a high-resolution ultrasound system, equipped with a 7.5 Megahertz linear probe under ECG monitoring. After a rest period of at least 10 minutes on a bed in supine decubitus in an air-conditioned room, the sensor was placed on humeral artery, 3-5 cm above the elbow, and held the same position during the examination through an arm mechanically connected. They were performing a number of longitudinal sections and measured the internal diameter of the vessel, defined as the distance between the top edge of the echo produced by the interface between the lumen and the anterior wall of the vessel and the top edge of the echo produced by the interface between the lumen and the rear wall of the vessel. The inner diameter of the vessel was measured several times, on the R wave of the ECG, and a pc "software" calculated the average value. The flow rate was measured with the sample volume placed in the center of the vase with a 60 ° angle between the ultrasound beam and the longitudinal axis of the vessel. The post-ischemic vasodilation was induced using a sphygmomanometer placed on the forearm, distal to the elbow crease, kept inflated to 250 mmHg for 5 minutes. The flow rate, always with a correction angle of 60 °, was recorded immediately after the desufflation; the diameter of the brachial artery, it was measured several times after desufflation (for 60-90 seconds). Nextly, the FMD was calculated as the percentage difference between the maximum diameter of the post-ischemic reached and the mean diameter of the base of the vessel.