ABSTRACT
The major burdens of diabetic vascular complications are debilitating morbidity and increased mortality. For people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, reduced quality of life and shortened lifespan are consequences of both the classical microvascular complications of retinopathy and nephropathy, and accelerated macrovascular disease. Fortunately, the outlook for these complications has improved over the last 20 years, with more precisely, timed laser photocoagulation for vision-threatening retinopathy, more rigorous management of blood pressure in those with or at risk of renal disease, including widespread use of agents which interrupt the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), and more intensive risk factor reduction, particularly liberal use of lipid lowering agents in this high-risk population for cardiovascular disease. With increasing elucidation of the underlying causes of diabetic complications (1) it is predicted that over the next two decades even better therapeutic strategies will be implemented to not only treat but also to retard and prevent the development of diabetic vascular complications.
