Diabetes mellitus type cardiovascular complications

It has been proposed that the development of the complications of diabetes mellitus may be linked to oxidative stress and therefore might be attenuated by antioxidants such as vitamin E. Furthermore, it is discussed that glucose-induced vascular dysfunction in diabetes can be reduced by vitamin E treatment due to the inactivation of PKC. Cardiovascular complications are among the leading causes of death in diabetics. In addition, a postulated protective effect of vitamin E (antioxidants) on fasting plasma glucose in type 2 diabetic patients is also mentioned but could not be confirmed in a recently published triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial [3]. To our knowledge, up to now no clinical intervention trials have tested directly whether vitamin E can ameliorate the complication of diabetes. 

Older patients have predominantly Type 2 diabetes mellitus, which shares with Type 1 the risk for retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy, but carries a greater risk for macrovascular complications such as coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. Many such patients have associated obesity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, compounding the risk of cardiovascular disease. The goals of treatment of DM in the elderly are to decrease symptoms related to hyperglycaemia and to prevent long-term complications. Treatment of type 2 DM can improve prognosis. In the UKPDS trial, sulphonylureas, insulin, and metformin were all associated with a reduction in diabetes-related... 

Diabetes mellitus causes about 50% of all patients being treated for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in the USA and this is because the disease (type 2 disease) is pervasive. Recent studies have shown that the onset and progression of the disease can be ameliorated if treatment is instituted early on in the course of the disease. ESRD is the commonest complication of type 1 diabetes. A higher proportion of individuals with type 2 diabetes was found to have microalbuminuria and overt nephropathy shortly after the diagnosis of diabetes, because the diabetes had actually been present for many years before the diagnosis was made. There is a correlation between the degree of albuminuria and cardiovascular disease. 

Macrovascular Complications. The connection between high insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia), insulin resistance, and cardiovascular events incorrectly leads some clinicians to believe that insulin therapy may cause macrovascular complications. The UKPDS and DCCT found no differences in macrovascular outcomes with intensive insulin therapy. One study, the Diabetes Mellitus, Insulin Glucose Infusion in Acute Myocardial Infarction study " reported reductions in mortality with insulin therapy. This group assessed the effect of an insulin-glucose infusion in type 2 DM patients who had experienced an acute myocardial infarction. Those randomized to insulin infusion followed by intensive insulin therapy lowered their absolute mortality risk by 11% over a mean follow-up period of approximately 3 years. This was most evident in subjects who were insulin-naive or had a low cardiovascular risk prior to the acute myocardial infarction. " ... 

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