Diabetes Complications in Childhood Diabetes-New Biomarkers and Technologies

A major challenge in preventing vascular complications in diabetes is the inability to identify high-risk patients at an early stage, emphasizing the importance of discovering new risk factors, technologies and therapeutic targets to reduce the development and progression of complications. Promising biomarkers which may improve risk stratification and serve as therapeutic targets, include: uric acid, insulin sensitivity, copeptin, SGLT-2 and Klotho/FGF-23. Non-invasive measures of macrovasuclar disease in youth, include: 1) pulse wave velocity to examine arterial stiffness; 2) carotid intima-media thickness to evaluate arterial thickness; 3) cardiac MRI to investigate cardiac function and structure. Novel microvascular measures include: GFR by iohexol clearance using filter paper to directly measure GFR, retinal vascular geometry to predict early retinal changes and corneal confocal microscopy to improve detection of early nerve loss to better predict diabetic neuropathy. Herein we will review technologies, novel biomarkers, and therapeutic targets in relation to vascular complications of diabetes.