Increased soluble fibrin monomer and soluble thrombomodulin levels in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

We measured the plasma levels of fibrinogen, D-dimer, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), plasmin-plasmin inhibitor complex (PPIC), soluble fibrin monomer (SFM), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and thrombomodulin (TM) in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). There were no significant differences in the hemostatic parameters between the 77 patients with NIDDM and healthy control subjects, although the plasma levels of fibrinogen, D-dimer, TAT, and PPIC in the NIDDM patients were slightly higher than those in the healthy controls. Among the NIDDM patients divided into three groups by the urinary albumin excretion (UAE) level, there was no significant difference in age or sex among the normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria groups, and the HbA1C level in the micro- and macroalbuminuria groups were slightly higher than those in the normoalbuminuria group. There was no significant difference in activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, fibrinogen, TAT, PPIC, D-dimer, or t-PA among these three groups. The plasma SFM and TM levels in the macroalbuminuria group were significantly higher than those in the normo- and microalbuminuria groups. The relationships between HbA1C and the hemostatic parameters were poor, but the plasma TM and SFM levels were significantly correlated with the urine albumin index.