Abstrakt: |
The effect of spontaneous diabetes on plasma lipids during the natural course of the disease was studied in genetically diabetic mice (C57BL/KsJ-db/db). Hyperlipidaemia developed uniformly in all mice studied and was found to be a characteristic part of the diabetic syndrome, as compared to normal littermates. The hyperlipidaemia was characterized by a marked rise in plasma triglyceride levels with age and severity of the disease increaing from 120+/-6 mg/dl at 5 weeks of age to 400+/-91 mg/dl at 19 weeks of age. In addition, db/db mice were observed to be hypercholesterolaemic as compared to age-matched normal littermates, The plasma cholesterol levels of diabetic mice were elevated early in the disease, as compared to control mice (200+/-6 vs. 130+/-7 mg/dl, respectively), and the mean level remained elevated throughout the period of observation. |