“ Endothelial Protector Drugs ” and Diabetes: Is there a Role for these Drugs?

Diabetic vasculopathy, including macro and micro vascular disorders, is the leading

cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with type 1 (T1) and type 2 (T2) diabetes

mellitus (DM) [1].

A lot of researches pointed out that endothelial dysfunction, characterized by an

imbalance between Endothelium-Derived Relaxing Factors (EDRFs) and endothelium-

derived contracting factors (EDCFs) play a central role on the development and

progression of diabetic vasculopathy [2-5].

Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation, as indicated by abnormal flow-

dependent vasodilatation and by increased circulating levels of adhesion molecules

(ICAM-1 and E-selectin) are known to occur in T2DM and seems to be an important

predictor in systemic atherogenesis [6].