Dysglycemia and the Density of the Coronary Vasa Vasorum

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to determine the relationship between dysglycemia and the coronary artery vasa vasorum density. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The left anterior descending coronary artery was removed from 57 deceased individuals during autopsy, and the capillaries in the vessel wall were identified using fluorescent immunohistochemical staining. HbA(1c) was determined in postmortem whole blood for each individual. The density of the vasa vasorum in the intima-media and the adventitia was manually quantified and recorded by readers unaware of the individual's other characteristics. RESULTS The individuals with diabetes had a lower density of the coronary vasa vasorum than those without diabetes. The higher the HbA(1c), the lower the density of these vessels in the adventitia and entire vessel wall. CONCLUSIONS Dysglycemia-induced damage to the vasa vasorum may promote ischemic heart disease in people with diabetes.