SOD1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Diabetes appears to cause alterations in proteins regulating antioxidant defense in rats (Wohaieb & Godin, 1987) and is associated with lower activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in human plasma (Pan et al., 2010; Ramakrishna & Jailkhani, 2008), implying a connection between type 2 diabetes and aberrant antioxidant defenses.