Oxidative stress, diabetes, and diabetic complications.

Oxidative stress is considered to be the main cause for several chronic diseases including diabetes. Through hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and possible iron dyshomeostasis, diabetes induces oxidative stress that causes damage to multiple organs, leading to various complications. Therefore, antioxidant therapy may be an interesting approach to prevent diabetes and diabetic complications. Metallothionein as a potent antioxidant was found to significantly protect heart and kidney against diabetes-induced pathophysiological changes. Zinc as an important trace element and a metallothionein inducer was found to have same protective function. Since diabetes would impair defensive system, including growth factor reduction, exogenous supplementation of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) significantly prevented diabetes-induced cardiac oxidative damage and wound healing impairment. These studies suggest that protective agents such as metallothionein, zinc and FGFs play an important role in preventing the development of diabetes and diabetic complications.