Pharmacological research : the official journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society
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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, and by resistance to insulin's effects. Such a deficiency results in increased concentrations of glucose and other metabolites in the blood, which in turn damages many of the body's systems, in particular the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels. There are two major types of diabetes mellitus: Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes, IDDM or juvenile onset diabetes) and Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes, NIDDM or adult-onset). ⋯ Clinical studies have shown that ruboxistaurin, a PKCbeta isoform selective inhibitor, normalize endothelial dysfunction, renal glomerular filtration rate and prevented loss of visual acuity in diabetic patients. Thus, PKC activation involving several isoforms is likely to be responsible for some of the pathologies in diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular disease. PKC isoform selective inhibitors are likely new therapeutics, which can delay the onset or stop the progression of diabetic vascular disease with very little side effects.