Benjeddou, MongiNxele, Xolisa2022-08-122024-05-092022-08-122024-05-092022https://hdl.handle.net/10566/13513Philosophiae Doctor - PhDCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death of people with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). According to a statistical report from the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 17.9 million people die annually because of CVD and diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), a disease of the heart muscle occurring in the absence of coronary artery disease or hypertension. Although not fully elucidated, the pathophysiology of DCM includes myocardial left ventricular hypertrophy, impaired calcium handling, energy metabolism, inflammation, apoptosis and myocardial fibrosis.enDiabetesCardiovascular diseaseHeart diseaseObesityBiotechnologyUniversity of the Western Cape