Complications of Diabetes Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of developing primarily vascular complications that contribute to the morbidity and mortality of diabetic patients. Poor glycemic control leads to vascular complications that affect large (macrovascular), small (microvascular) vessels, or both. Macrovascular complications include coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke. Microvascular complications contribute to diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), nephropathy (kidney disease), and retinopathy (eye disease). Macrovascular complications of diabetes Diabetic patients due to common metabolic, coagulation and vascular abnormalities are more prone to atherosclerosis and ischemic complications (Beckman et al., 2002). Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the migration of T lymphocytes and monocytes into the area affected by the lesion of the arterial wall. This process plays a central role in the pathogenesis of macrovascular disease leading to luminal stenosis (narrowing of arterial walls) in the peripheral or coronary vasculature (Boyle, 2007; Wagenknecht et al., 2003; Wagenknecht et al., 1997). Large vessel atherosclerosis is thought to result from the hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia that are characteristic of DM. Clinical manifestations include angina pectoris (chest pain) and myocardial infarctions (MIs), transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), strokes, and peripheral arterial disease. In diabetic patients, cytokine production decreases collagen synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells and increases the production of matrix metalloproteinases, resulting in an increased tendency for plaque destabilization and rupture (van der Wal and Becker, 1999). Atherosclerosis or...... half of the article ......patients with type 1 diabetes are much younger than those with type 2 diabetes, and stroke is generally attributed to the elderly. Presence of microvascular complications such as microalbuminuria, diabetic retinopathy and autonomic neuropathy further increases the risk of stroke (Cheung et al., 2007a; Miettinen et al., 1996; Toyry et al., 1996; Cohen et al., 2003; Rocco et al., 2010). Diabetic Neuropathy The word neuropathy is derived from two Latin words: "neuro," which refers to the nerve, and "patia," which means disease. Diabetic neuropathies are common complications in diabetes that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Diabetic neuropathy is directly related to the length of the axons and the duration of exposure of the nerve fibers to hyperglycemia. Depending on the type of neuronal fibers affected, diabetic neuropathy is classified as: (Edwards et al., 2008; Casellini and Vinik, 2007)