Diabetes mellitus is a complex disease. We are increasingly gaining a better understanding of its mechanisms at the molecular level. From these new insights, better therapeutic approaches should emerge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Insulin resistance in visceral adipose tissue (VAT), skeletal muscle and liver is a prominent feature of most patients with obesity. How this association arises remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the decrease in insulin receptor (INSR) expression and insulin signaling in VAT from obese individuals is an early molecular manifestation that might play a crucial role in the cascade of events leading to systemic insulin resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLoss-of-function mutations of the ß-cell ATP-sensitive potassium channels (K) cause the most common and severe form of congenital hyperinsulinism (KHI), a disorder of ß-cell function characterized by severe hypoglycemia. Children with KHI are typically unresponsive to medical therapy and require pancreatectomy for intractable hypoglycemia. We tested the hypothesis that inhibition of insulin receptor signaling may prevent hypoglycemia in KHI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cerebral salt-wasting syndrome (CSWS) was initially described over 60 years ago in hyponatremic patients with a cerebral lesion. However, the diagnostic criteria for CSWS have not been fully established. Thus, when hyponatremia is observed in patients with CSWS, they may be misdiagnosed as having the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH).
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