Diabetic pulmonary microangiopathy &#8212; fact or fiction?

Krzysztof Kuziemski; Krzysztof Specjalski; Ewa Jassem

Vol 62, No 2 (2011)

Review paper

Submitted: 2013-02-15

Published online: 2011-04-29

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Diabetic pulmonary microangiopathy — fact or fiction?

Krzysztof Kuziemski, Krzysztof Specjalski, Ewa Jassem

Endokrynol Pol 2011;62(2):171-176.

Vol 62, No 2 (2011)

Review Article

Submitted: 2013-02-15

Published online: 2011-04-29

Abstract

Elevated levels of serum glucose have deleterious effects on the walls of blood vessels, leading to microangiopathy. Such a destructive process involves also pulmonary circulation, where it is referred to as diabetic pulmonary microangiopathy. This hypothesis has been confirmed in histopathologic examinations of pulmonary parenchyma, as well as in pulmonary function tests. However, so far there have been no clinical implications of these findings.
Another phenomenon requiring further discussion involves diabetics with clinically silent respiratory dysfunction. That may result from significant vascular and ventilation reserves that compensate for partial loss of pulmonary parenchyma in the course of diabetes. In this review, we present an overview of the available publications on pulmonary microangiopathy and its influence on the functioning of the respiratory system. (Pol J Endocrinol 2011; 62 (2): 171–175)