Download or read book Diabetes and cardiovascular disease: new therapeutic interventions written by Ludwig Weckbach and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-08-22 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus (DM), is a disease that occurs when the glucose level in the blood becomes too high (hyperglycaemia). Chronic hyperglycaemia is accompanied by both biochemical and pathological complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular diseases. Diabetes mellitus can be classified into two types: type I which results from the destruction of pancreatic β-cells, leading to insulin insufficiency and type II diabetes mellitus, which is mainly related to insulin resistance. Optimal control of blood glucose levels remains the cornerstone of managing DM. To date, the major classes of antidiabetic medications used to treat diabetes include: biguanides, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, sulfonylureas, meglitinides, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT2) inhibitors, α-glucosidase inhibitors, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and the various types of insulin. Several of these drugs may have, besides their antidiabetic properties, also important cardiovascular complications for the patients taking them.