At the 40th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Professor Antonio Ceriello, Chair of Internal Medicine, University of Udine, Italy, discussed his findings of the role of oxidative stress as a contributor to insulin resistance, as well as a possible factor affecting pancreatic islet dysfunction. His study suggests a flow of events that begins with an underlying genetic predisposition of increased susceptibility to oxidative and nitrosative stress induced by environmental factors such as overfeeding or smoking. He also suggests that subjects with insulin resistance have impaired endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production, and consequently experience enhanced inflammation and oxidative stress.

The team at The Strelitz Diabetes Institutes have produced evidence that suggests insulin has anti-inflammatory effects, including decreased generation of reactive oxidative species, and inhibition of the transcription factor nuclear factor, which induces the transcription of cytokines and enzymes integral to both inflammation and oxidative stress.

Although this research was primarily concerned with the inflammatory degeneration of pancreatic islet function, the inflammatory markers and mediators identified, closely mirror the pathobiology of inflammatory periodontal disease. This may further explain why patients with Type II Diabetes have an increased risk of periodontal disease and may suggest the need for adequate antioxidant intake. Further large scale studies need to be undertaken.