Insulin Resistance

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 research in 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.