The role of oxidative stress in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major global health problem, currently affecting about 460 million people while another billion have prediabetes, all costing the governments of the world over $1 trillion USAD to diagnose and treat diabetic patients, so that they can enjoy a better quality of life. DM induces hyperglycemia (HG), which in turn plays a significant role in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is responsible for over 80% of diabetic mortality. The exact mechanisms underlying DCM remain incompletely clear, although several pathological mechanisms responsible for DCM have been proposed in the literature. One such mechanism is oxidative stress (OS), which is widely considered as one of the major causes for the pathogenesis of the disease. There is a growing scientific and public interest in connecting oxidative stress with a variety of pathological conditions, including DM as well as other human diseases. HG-induced oxidative stress is a major risk factor for the development of micro-vascular pathogenesis in the diabetic myocardium, resulting in myocardial cell death, hypertrophy, fibrosis, abnormalities of calcium homeostasis and endothelial dysfunction. The aim of this review is to highlight the role of oxidative stress in the development of DCM.