MEDIAL ARTERIAL CALCIFICATION (MONCKEBERG’S SCLEROSIS) IN DIABETIC AND NON-DIABETIC PATIENTS

Abstract

Medial arterial calcification is an entity observed with high frequency in diabetic patients, but its clinical significance is relatively unknown. New data revealed that medial calcification of the arteries is an active process involving phenotypic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Epidemiological observations link medial sclerosis not only to diabetes, but also to other disease states commonly encountered in the population, such as osteoporosis and chronic kidney disease. Few prospective studies have been conducted in order to determine the role that medial arterial calcification plays as a prognostic indicator in diabetics or in other populations. This review tries to shed some light on this pathologic process and its presumed consequences for diabetic and non- diabetic patients.