Plasma beta-thromboglobulin and platelet factor 4 are not increased in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with microalbuminuria.

To evaluate the possibility that platelet dysfunctions contribute to the cardiovascular risk of microalbuminuric insulin-dependent diabetic (IDD) patients, we have measured beta-thromboglobulin (BTG) and platelet factor 4 (PF4) in 74 IDD patients with different degrees of albuminuria (8 macro-, 36 micro- and 30 normoalbuminuric) and in 30 non-diabetic control subjects. BTG values (20.4 +/- 1.5 SEM in normo-, 22.2 +/- 1.2 in micro-, 101.1 +/- 2.9 in macroalbuminuric patients and 21.8 +/- 1.1 IU/ml in control subjects) were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the macroalbuminuric patients, but similar among the other groups. These results suggest that platelet hyperactivation is not present in the microalbuminuric stage of diabetic nephropathy, only in overt nephropathy.