Investigation of Antioxidant Markers in Diabetic Patients

Hyperglycemia is a characteristic of diabetes mellitus, one of the most common metabolic illnesses in the world, and is caused by either reduced insulin secretion or insulin resistance. Diabetes mellitus in adults has been on the rise in recent decades, and it is now the world's fifth-biggest cause of mortality. Diabetes mellitus will affect 592 million people worldwide by 2035, according to the International Diabetes Mellitus Federation, and diabetic complications are divided into two groups of acute and chronic types. Diabetic ketoacidosis, nonketotic hyperosmolar coma, and hypoglycemia are some examples of acute problems, whereas chronic complications include injuries to the small vessels (microvascular issues) and large blood arteries (macrovascular complications). Diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy, and nephropathy all have microvascular consequences, and on the other hand, macrovascular problems have a role in the etiology of cardiovascular disorders such as coronary, cerebrovascular, and peripheral artery diseases. This study aimed to estimate some antioxidant markers, including total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin/globulin ratio (AGR), free amino, free amino/total protein, thiol, thiol/total protein, carbonyl, as well as carbonyl/total protein levels in the plasma of diabetic complications compared to healthy subjects, and investigate the correlations between them. The present study included 120 plasma samples divided into 80 samples as patients with diabetic complications; 26, 26, and 28 samples had diabetic kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic neuropathy, respectively, with the age range between 20-60. Moreover, a total of 40 healthy subjects were included in the study as the control group with the same age ranges. The results showed that there was not any significant difference in carbonyl; however, significant differences were recorded in the total protein, albumin, globulin, AGR, free amino, free amino/total protein, thiol and thiol/total protein, as well as carbonyl/total protein levels in all studied groups. The correlation outcomes indicated that there were significant positive relationships between total protein-globulin, AGR-albumin, and free amine-albumin. In contrast, significant negative correlations were recorded between total protein-AGR and AGR-globulin in diabetic complications. Finally, it was concluded that oxidation markers might play a role in monitoring diabetic complications.