Review
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World J Diabetes. Aug 15, 2013; 4(4): 92-100
Published online Aug 15, 2013. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v4.i4.92
Trace elements in diabetic cardiomyopathy: An electrophysiological overview
Nihal Ozturk, Yusuf Olgar, Semir Ozdemir
Nihal Ozturk, Yusuf Olgar, Semir Ozdemir, Department of Biophysics, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, 07070 Antalya, Turkey
Author contributions: Ozturk N and Olgar Y involved in collecting the required publications about the review and editing the manuscript; Ozdemir S organized the structure of the review and wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Semir Ozdemir, Department of Biophysics, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Dumlupinar Bulvari, 07070 Antalya, Turkey. osemir@akdeniz.edu.tr
Telephone: +90-242-2496907 Fax: +90-242-2496907
Received: June 6, 2013
Revised: July 12, 2013
Accepted: July 18, 2013
Published online: August 15, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is one of the major causes of mortality in diabetic patients. Common cellular defects underlying the progressive cardiac complications of diabetes are reduction in the rate of contraction, low myosin ATPase activity, dysregulation of [Ca2+]i homeostasis and altered ionic currents. Accordingly, it is of critical importance to develop therapeutic strategies that will effectively inhibit diabetes induced fatal complications. In last decade, several trace elements have been suggested to improve performance of diabetic heart based due to their potential anti-diabetic and/or antioxidant activity. In this article the effects of trace elements on electrophysiological alterations of diabetic heart were discussed in detail.