Targeting complications of diabetes with antioxidants

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a debilitating metabolic disorder in which oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathogenesis of the homeostatic regulation of glucose. Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and defending antioxidant systems and has a major contribution in the pathogenesis of many diseases including diabetes. This has led to the promising idea that using antioxidants may be a useful therapeutic strategy. In this chapter we focus on the therapeutic role of some commonly used antioxidants including vitamin E, vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, l-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and ruboxistaurin in the treatment of diabetes or its complications. We focus on the results from human clinical studies and summarize their key outcomes. Despite the promise of therapeutic benefits based on preclinical data, the results of large-scale clinical trial are inconclusive and suggest that the routine use of antioxidants may have limited or no therapeutic benefits.