Nitric oxide and vascular responses in Type I diabetes

Abstract

Vascular complications are major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. The mechanisms underlying the development of microvascular and macrovascular angiopathy in Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus are complex and incompletely understood. The discovery of endothelium-derived nitric oxide has greatly improved our understanding of vascular biology. Nitric oxide has an important role in the regulation of vascular tone and impaired nitric oxide activity could be implicated in the development of diabetic vasculopathy. Vascular studies of endothelial function in Type I diabetes have produced conflicting results. The role of nitric oxide in diabetic vasculopathy is still not clear.