Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a multifactorial metabolic disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Although there is not one single cause for it, obesity currently remains the largest risk factor. Obesity is characterized by excessive body fat, or adipose tissue. Over time, hypertrophy of white adipose tissue (WAT) leads to the altered secretion of adipocyte cytokines and hormones, or “adipokines”. This is one proposed hypothesis for the development of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in obese patients. Additionally, the expression of hormones involved in regulating satiety is altered under obese conditions, which also contributes to insulin resistance. This phenomenon of obesity induced diabetes is termed “diabesity”. While the precise molecular mechanism of diabesity remains unclear, it is evident that adipose tissue plays an important and major role in modulating glucose and lipid metabolism by functioning as an endocrine organ. Thus, obese patients with T2DM are encouraged to implement lifestyle changes such as dieting and exercising to reduce their body fat and to help improve their insulin sensitivity. Aside from this, there are other treatment options available that should also be considered. However, many of them have associated risks and undesirable effects such as weight gain. Therefore, T2DM patients should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of all treatment options before deciding on which ones are most suitable for them. The current clinical management of T2DM is a rapidly growing area of research, and as the prevalence of this metabolic disease continues to increase worldwide, the development of future treatment options is expected.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48086 |
| Date | 13 February 2024 |
| Creators | Avallone, Kristen |
| Contributors | Kandror, Konstantin, Tornheim, Keith |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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