abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) proteomics

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a pathological dilatation of the aortic wall and it is a life-threatening disease due to the risk of rupture. Currently, surgical intervention remains the only definitive treatment recommended for large or rapidly expanding aneurysms. No pharmacological therapy is currently available to prevent AAA progression, as no drug has been proven effective. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease in general. However, many studies over the last decade show that type 2 diabetes patients have a lower incidence of AAA and a slower aneurysm growth rate, which has been correlated with metformin use. We performed a proteomics analysis on resected aortic tissue from controls, non-diabetic (ND) and diabetic (D) AAA patients.