DNA damage evaluated by comet assay in Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

We conducted a case-control study to assess whether general DNA damage levels evaluated by comet assay (length of tail comet, tail extent moment, and olive tail moment) differ in Mexican patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The sample included 71 Mexican patients with DM2 who had developed the disease >5 years previously and had been treated with oral hypoglycemic drugs (sulfonylurea and/or metformin), with no microvascular or macrovascular complications. These patients were classified into three groups according to age: (I) 40-50 years, (II) 51-60 years, and (III) 61-70 years. A control group of 14 individuals (40-50 years) without DM2 was included. Our results showed there was a slight but not significant increase in DNA damage in the two groups of patients with DM2 aged between 40 and 60 years compared with the 61-70-year-old patient group and controls. In conclusion, given that general DNA damage was similar in the three groups of patients with DM2 and the control group, it is possible that these cells showed similar oxidative damage, as has been proposed previously.