Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ankara Universitesi Eczacilik Fakultesi Dergisi, cilt.35, sa.4, ss.297-317, 2006 (Scopus)
The introduction of insulin in the treatment of diabetes almost 80 years ago enabled diabetics to have a normal life. However, degenerative complications still develop in these patients over their lifetime. Cardiovascular complications as the primary cause of diabetes-related mortality and morbidity replaced ketoacidozis due to the lack of insulin in diabetics after 1922. Diabetes-induced cardiac complications are related to arteriosclerosis, as well as a combination of many factors such as macroangiopathy, microangiopathy, autonomic neuropathy, and structural, functional, and biochemical alterations in the heart. However, evidence supports the existence of a specific diabetic cardiomyopathy independent of other risk factors for heart disease since many patients develop cardiac problems unrelated to any of the aforementioned complications. Although it is well established that diabetes is a risk for the development of cardiac dysfunction independent of other risk factors there is no consensus as to the mechanisms involved or the most appropriate treatment strategies. The primary reason is that many diabetes-related complications are risk factors for other diseases as well as the complexity to define the cause-effect relationship of the complications and the diseases. Some studies investigate the sequence of functional and metabolic disorders in an attempt to provide this relationship. This review summarizes the studies of a metabolic approach in the pathogenesis and/or the treatment of diabetes.