RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Prevalence and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Islet Amyloid in Chinese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes JF Diabetes JO Diabetes FD American Diabetes Association SP 2759 OP 2766 DO 10.2337/diabetes.52.11.2759 VO 52 IS 11 A1 Zhao, Hai-Lu A1 Lai, Fernand M.M. A1 Tong, Peter C.Y. A1 Zhong, Ding-Rong A1 Yang, Di A1 Tomlinson, Brian A1 Chan, Juliana C.N. YR 2003 UL http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/52/11/2759.abstract AB Islet amyloid has been suggested to be an important link between insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. To investigate the prevalence and clinicopathological characteristics of islet amyloid, we examined consecutive autopsies of 235 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and 533 nondiabetic subjects. Islet amyloid deposits were identified using Congo red staining and quantitated by image analysis. We found that 3.0% of the nondiabetic subjects versus 39.6% of the diabetic patients displayed islet amyloid (P < 0.001). In diabetic patients, the amyloid deposits occupied a mean islet area of 36.2%, which was positively associated with BMI, blood pressure, and glycemic control. Pancreatic fibrosis and fat infiltration were more frequently found in diabetic patients with islet amyloid than those without islet amyloid, whereas pancreatic arteriosclerosis was identified in all diabetic patients. These findings suggest that islet amyloid deposits reflect greater insulin resistance and islet failure in a subgroup of type 2 diabetic patients. Islet failure may also have been exacerbated by fat infiltration, fibrosis, and arteriosclerosis. Optimal blood pressure and metabolic control may reduce these pathological changes and help preserve islet cell mass.