Current Diabetes Reviews - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2012

Current Diabetes Reviews is now entering its 8th year of publication. It has become well established in the field, publishing high quality review articles on clinical and basic research in the subject area of diabetes mellitus. The journal will continue to have a broad base, publishing reviews on the latest advances in diabetes and its complications, including the underlying physiology, pharmacology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, cl Read More

In the last few decades, the prevalence of overweight and essential obesity has been undergoing a fast and progressive worldwide increase. Obesity has been in turn linked to type II diabetes, with the total number of diabetic patients worryingly increasing, in the last fifteen years, suggesting a pandemic phenomenon. At the same time, an increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has been also recorde Read More

Vitamin D plays a role in a range of functions that may impact on glycaemic control. In this study we systematically report on clinical studies evaluating the impact of vitamin D on aspects of hyperglycaemia in non-pregnant adults. A total of 1,294 articles, of which 417 were reviews, were identified. No well-designed randomised, controlled trials were identified that specifically investigated the effects of vitamin D suppleme Read More

Diabetes mellitus has become a major health concern worldwide and its incidence is projected to increase. Diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) are considered the most sight-threatening ocular complications in these patients. Pivotal studies, such as the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) and the Diabetic Retinopathy Study (DRS), have established macular and pan-re Read More

The secosteroid vitamin D is best known for its role in calcium regulation and bone metabolism. Recently, however, an emerging body of evidence has suggested that vitamin D may have previously-unrecognized effects on a variety of physiologic processes, including those relating to glucose homeostasis. Indeed, vitamin D insufficiency has been linked with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In this review, the potential association betwe Read More

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a very common disease which, if a good glycemic control is not achieved, can lead to serious chronic complications such as cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. Selfmonitoring of blood glucose is a fundamental tool for the proper adjustment of the treatment of diabetes and, at present, it is based mainly on capillary blood obtained by finger-prick (the classical gluc Read More

It is now well accepted that early life events can contribute substantially to the likelihood of an individual becoming obese, although many of the mechanisms for this are not well understood. Maternal over- and under-nutrition as well as the postnatal nutritional environment can contribute significantly to obesity throughout life. This review will provide an overview of early life events associated with neuroendocrine program Read More

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance and pancreatic islet β-cell failure. Accumulating evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction is a central contributor to β-cell failure in the pathogenesis of T2D. This review focuses on mechanisms whereby reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by β-cell in response to metabolic stress affect mitochondrial structure and function and lead to β-cell fa Read More