Diabetes is a growing pandemic of the 21st century that has reached almost 10% worldwide. Changes in lifestyle such as unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are strongly associated with the increasing prevalence of this disease. Chronic hyperglycemia, the common outcome of all diabetes types, induces severe complications in several organ systems, leading to morbidity and mortality. According to the American Diabetes Association, the total cost of diabetes in 2018 was approximately 327 billion dollars, a staggering 26 percent increase from the 245 billion in 2012. Therefore, there is a great need to develop new strategies to control and/or delay the development of diabetes.

Oxidative stress is an imbalance in cellular redox reactions that plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes mellitus. Oxidative stress results from reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction or a decline in antioxidant defense mechanisms. ROS production is beneficial in some cases as they are used by the immune system and to activate key pathways to maintain cellular homeostasis. However, overall excessive generation of ROS results in harmful effects causing damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids, ultimately leading to cell death. Therefore, agents counteracting excess ROS and/or increasing the antioxidant defenses represent an appealing strategy for treating diabetes and its complications. Over the past decades, researchers have presented convincing data suggesting that oxidative stress is an important piece of the puzzle for understanding the complex mechanism by which diabetes and its complications are developed. In addition, a great deal of effort is being conducted to design strategies to free radical scavenging that can diminish excessive ROS production and improve defenses in diabetes.

This Special Issue invites investigators to contribute original research and review articles that illustrate the role of ROS in the development of diabetes and its complications. The purpose of the Special Issue will be to focus on articles describing the mechanism underlying the modulatory effect of antioxidants on oxidative stress.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Role of ROS in insulin resistance and diabetes complications
• Nutrition, exercise, and the environment links to ROS generation and its implications in diabetes
• In vitro and in vivo studies on the role of antioxidants in controlling redox imbalance and its implications in diabetes development and its complications
• Modulators of the redox-sensitive transcription factors in diabetes
• Natural and synthetic antioxidants as modulators of cellular signaling and metabolism in diabetes
• Therapeutic application of antioxidants in oxidative stress-related in diabetes