Abstract
The global diabetes burden is predicted to rise to 380 million by 2025 and would present itself as a major health challenge. However, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes increase the risk of developing micro-vascular complications and macro-vascular complications which in turn will have a devastating impact on quality of life of the patients and challenge health services Worldwide. The micro-vascular complications that affect small blood vessels are the leading cause of blindness (diabetic retinopathy) in the people of the working-age, end-stage renal disease (diabetic nephropathy) the most common cause of kidney failure today, and foot amputation (diabetic neuropathy) in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. It is accepted that hyperglycemia is a major causative factor for the development of these complications, there is now growing evidence for the role of inflammation. Here we discuss low-grade inflammation as a common retinal-renalnerve pathogenic link in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
This review summarizes evidence showing a link between circulating and locally produced inflammatory biomarkers, such as cell adhesion molecules (vascular adhesion cell molecule-1, VCAM-1; intracellular adhesion molecule-1, ICAM- 1), pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, IL-6; tumour necrosis factor-alpha, TNF-α; C-reactive protein, CRP) with the development and progression of diabetic micro-vascular complications.
Keywords: Diabetes, Retinopathy, Neuropathy, Nephropathy, Inflammation, Pro-inflammatory cytokines, Adhesion molecules, Retinal-Renal-Nerve, micro-vascular complications, macro-vascular complications, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, hyperglycemia, C-reactive proteinCRP, clinically significant macular oedema (CSMO), INFLAMMATORY MARKERS, LEUKOCYTES, CAPILLARY OCCLUSION, ANTI- INFLAMMATORY, Tumour necrosis factor-alpha, Glomerular filtration rate
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