ABSTRACT
The epidemic rise in the number of new cases of diabetes is one of the most alarming statistics regarding health issues on a worldwide basis. The major concern regarding this observation relates to the development of the chronic complications associated with the condition. Speci˜cally, the complications of diabetes have been classi˜ed as either microvascular-retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy-or macrovascular-cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). It is well recognized that the complications cause considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide and, as such, negatively affect the quality of life in individuals with diabetes, with an increase in disability and death. The costs of caring for diabetes and its related complications are staggering. For example, in the United States alone, the total estimated ˜nancial burden of diabetes was US$174 billion in 2007, and it is expected to be US$330 billion by 2020 due to the expected increase in new cases.
