Insulin resistance and diabetes, mechanism and possible intervention

Abstract

The issue of the peripheral resistance to insulin action has been getting a lot of attention over the last decade. The reason for this is that insulin is a major regulatory hormone and is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, protein and ions. To understand the pathophysiology of insulin resistance it is necessary to elucidate the methods for the assessment of insulin resistance and the molecular mechanism of insulin action. Insulin action is impaired in pathologic and physiologic states such as diabetes mellitus and obesity as well as in some rare syndromes. Further understanding of the pathophysiology of the impaired action of insulin improves the chances of defining new ways of treatment to improve the sensitivity to insulin action.