CASP8 and diabetes mellitus: Additionally, p53, a key stimulator of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, can be activated by hyperglycemia and the excessive oxidative DNA damage in diabetic conditions initiating cardiac cell death (Cai and Kang, 2003; Liu et al., 2009).Expectedly, escitalopram treatment managed to ameliorate diabetes-induced cardiac apoptosis as evidenced by decreased cardiac caspase-8 and p53 contents as well as caspase-3 activity.