Antiplatelet Therapy in Diabetes: Efficacy and Limitations of Current Treatment Strategies and Future Directions

C ardiovascular disease is the leadingcause of morbidity and mortality inpatients with diabetes (1). The con-comitant presence of multiple classical cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic subjects contributes to enhanced athero-thrombotic risk (2). However, other risk factors may be important such as abnor-mal platelet function (3). Platelets, in fact, play a key role in atherogenesis, and its thrombotic complications and measures, which lead to blockade of one or multiple pathways modulating platelet activation and aggregation processes, are pivotal in reducing ischemic risk in diabetic sub-jects (4). This article reviews currently available antiplatelet agents on ischemic