Role of nitric oxide in prevention diabetic nephropathy in females after menopause

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex disease, which affects many organs besides the pancreas such as the liver, brain, eye, stomach, and kidney. Purpose: The current study aimed to evaluate role of nitric oxide in prevention diabetic nephropathy in females after menopause. Methods: Our study was carried out on 90 females and 90 males with T2DM aged over 45 years, randomly selected from the outpatient clinic of the National Institute for Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE). T2DM patients were divided into 3 subgroups; subgroup 1: patients without any complications, subgroup 2: patients with nephropathy complications (DN), and subgroup 3: patients with cardiovascular compactions (CVD). Results: Result showed that dyslipidemia and oxidative stress was more pronounced in females rather than in male. While, kidney function markers was worse in male than female. Conclusion: The current study shows that diabetic females are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease than males due to the depletion of estrogen in postmenopausal women, causing oxidative stress. On the other hand, diabetic males are more susceptible to diabetic nephropathy than females due to a decrease in nitric oxide level, which is considered a kidney protective factor.