Diabetes is a metabolic disease that affects over half a million people worldwide. The causes of the diverse types of diabetes are varied. A common condition, chronic hyperglycaemia, leads to the disturbance of homeostasis of endothelial cells affecting macro- and micro-vasculature key to organ functions. Several complications related to the heart, liver, kidney, and eye are induced due to hyperglycaemia in diabetes leading to morbidity and mortality. Diabetes and its complications are a tremendous problem for public health across different countries.

The causal mechanisms and complications involved in diabetes are multifaceted. Accumulating evidence has proposed that hyperglycaemia induces the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS), which further activates a complex cycle of metabolic deregulation and cell death. The underlying link between ROS and RNS subsequently affects lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, mitochondrial biogenesis, and protein modification. Epigenetic modifications represent hyperglycaemia-induced early changes in histones and DNA, thus modulating gene expression or cellular phenotype leading to the metabolic memory phenomenon. Research has acknowledged that epigenetic modifications play a central role in the development of diabetes and its complications. Therapeutics have been implicated for the reversal and abrogation of causal underlying mechanisms for diabetic pathological conditions and complications. Despite the cutting-edge research on the pathways underlying diabetes, therapeutic targets are still needed.

This Special Issue invites investigators to contribute original research as well as review articles covering topics ranging from the pathologies of diabetic complications to the underlying mechanisms and preventive measures associated with ROS, DNA damage, and epigenetic modification. The main aim of the Special Issue will be to focus on articles describing mechanisms to control ROS, DNA damage, and modulate epigenetic modification towards developing preventive strategies to avoid and/or delay diabetes and its complications.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• The generation of ROS and the pathological and biochemical changes in long-term diabetes
• Epigenetic modification in diabetes and its complications
• The role of DNA damage (nucleus and mitochondrial) in diabetes and therapeutic strategies
• Mitochondrial dysfunction and impairment in mitochondria biogenesis in diabetes and its complications
• The role of antioxidants and new therapeutic approaches in abrogating the complications of diabetes
• Therapeutic effects of biguanides, personalized medicine, and other drugs in the management of diabetes