Diabetes represents the leading risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Chronic hyperglycemia and/or acute post-prandial changes in blood glucose determine an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which play a fundamental role in endothelial dysfunction and in the nuclear transport of pro-atherogenic transcription factors that activate the "inflammasome". In addition, the glycemic alteration favors the formation and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaque through the mechanism of non-enzymatic glycation of different molecules, with the establishment of the so-called "advanced glycosylation end products" (AGE). Laboratory information provided by the level of biomarkers could make a quantitative and qualitative contribution to the clinical process of screening, prediction, prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of cardiovascular (CV) risk linked to diabetes. This review describes the importance of specific biomarkers, with particular focus on novel ones, for stratifying and management of diabetes CV risk.

Centre for Experimental Medicine and Department of Diabetes Diabetes Centre Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine Prague Czech Republic; Institute of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and General University Hospital Prague Czech Republic

Department of Biomedicine Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics Institute of Clinical Biochemistry Clinical Molecular Medicine and Laboratory Medicine University of Palermo Palermo Italy

Department of Biomedicine Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics Institute of Clinical Biochemistry Clinical Molecular Medicine and Laboratory Medicine University of Palermo Palermo Italy; Department of Laboratory Medicine University Hospital Palermo Italy

Department of Health Promotion Mother and Child Care Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties University of Palermo Palermo Italy

Department of Health Promotion Mother and Child Care Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties University of Palermo Palermo Italy; Division of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia South Carolina USA

Diabetes Centre 2nd Department of Internal Medicine Democritus University of Thrace University Hospital of Alexandroupolis Greece

Division of Endocrinology Metabolism and Lipids Department of Medicine Emory University Atlanta Georgia USA; Division of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia South Carolina USA

Faculty of General Medicine Diabetes Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Department Carol Davila University Bucharest Romania

References provided by Crossref.org

Obesity, Cardiovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Potential Common Mechanisms