Abstract
Background: The incidence of diabetes is increasing rapidly, owing to unhealthy lifestyles. The human suffering and healthcare burden caused by diabetes are mainly a consequence of its microvascular and macrovascular complications. Late diagnosis and lack of strict metabolic control lead to increased morbidity and mortality. A problem is the insidious course of the complications, diagnosed in advanced stages, when end organ damage is already present. Objective: Discovery of early markers of microangiopathy and macroangiopathy may help to identify patients at risk of organ damage. Methods: This review focuses on recent developments in proteomics, performed on body fluids and different tissues implicated in microvascular and macrovascular complications. Results: The results provide important information for the early detection of diabetic complications as well as for better understanding of their pathophysiology.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Catholic University of Leuven (GOA 2004/10 and EF/05/007), the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO G.0084.02, G.0233.04, a clinical research fellowship for Chantal Mathieu), the Belgium Program on Interuniversity Poles of Attraction initiated by the Belgian State (IUAP P5/17 and P6/40), the European Union Project SAVEBETA (contract no. 036903 in the Framework Program 6 of the European Community) and the Center of Excellence SymBioSys (Research Council KU Leuven EF/05/007).