ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus (DM), a syndrome characterized by reduced insulin secretion and/or action, results in glucose intolerance, a subtle derangement of carbohydrate metabolism, and eventually in fasting hyperglycemia. Impairments in protein and fat metabolism are also present, and after a prolonged period of clinically overt or asymptomatic hyperglycemia chronic complications may become evident. Including microangiopathy (retinopathy, nephropathy), neuropathy, and macrovascular involvement, they are responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality of the disease. In developed countries an estimated 3% to 4% of the population is affected by DM.
