Type II diabetes is a disease that has developed into a worldwide epidemic. At the time of the discovery of insulin in the 1920's there was approximately one Type II patient for every Type I patient. Today, 80 years later, there are close to twenty Type II patients for every Type I patient. Preceding the onset of overt diabetes in most Type II patients is a prolonged period of insulin resistance that entails a host of detrimental derangements including impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, hypertension and beta cell failure, comprising a disease entity which is best referred to as the 'Insulin Resistance Syndrome', or 'Metabolic Syndrome'. This book deals with the cellular and whole body pathogenic mechanisms and phenotypic expressions in various models of insulin resistance which we believe will improve understanding and development of means for the prevention of the transition from insulin resistance into overt diabetes.
Presenting state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of insulin resistance, this book will be of great interest to all students, researchers, pharmaceutical scientists and clinicians interested in endocrinology, biochemistry and metabolism in diabetes.