Insulin Resistance: Insulin Action and Its Disturbances in Disease

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Insulin resistance is a key abnormality associated with a number of common metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including type 2 diabetes and obesity. This has therefore been an area of intense scrutiny for researchers worldwide. Over the last decade in particular, a plethora of defining studies have helped to cast light on both the clinical and the molecular aspects of insulin resistance. First, study of rare syndromes of severe insulin resistance has led to better definition of these conditions and, in many cases, to a better understanding of the molecular basis of these diseases. Second, the importance of insulin resistance to the development and progression of common diseases such as type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, cardiovascular disease and obesity is better appreciated. Third, we now have drugs that can reduce insulin resistance significantly and this has had an impact on both basic and clinical researchin the field. Consequently, we are beginning to see a major paradigm shift in how type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome are being managed, with a greater emphasis on addressing insulin resistance than ever before. In this book, several leading investigators who have made seminal contributions to the field have written chapters covering the normal biology of insulin action, the pathophysiology of insulin resistance, the myriad clinical consequences of insulin resistance, and finally, current and future prospects for its treatment. The book therefore not only provides an up-to-date perspective of the subject from several of the leading thinkers in the field, but should also serve as a useful source of reference for students, researchers and clinicians.Diabetes is now one of the major causes of morbidity worldwide. In many cases, the onset of diabetes is progressive, developing via a condition of insulin resistance. This book considers the development of this condition, its consequences and clinical and therapeutic aspects. The book reviews the normal biology of insulin action on glucose, lipids and proteins. It considers the pathological basis for insulin resistance in animal models and humans, and discusses the influence of heredity, dietary factors and exercise. Clinical consequences including dyslipidaemia, hypertension and polycystic ovary syndrome, and therapeutic strategies for treatment are also examined. * Provides an expert review of the phenomenon of insulin resistance * Brings together a host of recent research for the first time * Written by leading experts in biological and clinical research