Insulin resistance

A phenomenon called “insulin resistance” could be one of the early indicators of diabetes type II, according to the latest medical approaches for the treatment of the disease that affects nearly 300 million people in the year 2025. Specialists define insulin resistance as “the inability of tissues to respond appropriately to this hormone that helps the body to use glucose for energy.” It can cause serious disruption, especially when associated to the “syndrome X”, which are grouped risk factors for cardiovascular disease, obesity, and hypertension, high levels of sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides, and low values of “good” cholesterol or HDL.

Type II diabetes, which occurs in 90 percent of patients with this disease usually appears after a prolonged period of insulin resistance. The main cause of insulin resistance can be sought in genetic factors, but production of hormones constrains salaries (which stop the action of insulin) is triggered by stress and lifestyle of modern society itself.

When there is insulin resistance is generated hyperglycemia and hyper insulin emit, while also alter liver function and the rate of fatty acids in the blood.

New treatments
Only 70 percent of the 2 million Argentines with type II diabetes know their disease and 30 per cent (called diabetic unknown) are those who arrive late for the consultation, and when complications. For this reason, experts recommend conducting a simple laboratory examination to measure blood glucose levels, which not only allows the detection of diabetes once it is installed, but also knowing whether the patient manifests itself in a period before the “resistance to insulin. ” In the case of the disease, in addition to the diet low in sugar, the practice of physical activity on a regular basis and details of traditional medication by the specialist, is using a new group of drugs whose mechanism of action is to raise sensitivity to insulin in some tissues without forcing the pancreas to produce more of this hormone and making the body uses its own “reservations” of insulin more efficiently.

This new group of drugs decreases peripheral insulin resistance, improving metabolic control for patients. This control helps reduce future complications of diabetes type II.

Those older than 30 years with a family history of disease or risk factors such as those which are encompassed in Syndrome X are those who have higher chances of suffering from diabetes. To a chronic disease that must be anticipated, but if that is controlled, allowing the individual to make a completely normal life.

To recall

* To be considered normal values of blood sugar less than 110 mg / dl, with samples taken during fasting.

* It is important to conduct checks because diabetes type II or non-insulin-dependent is asymptomatic in 80 percent of patients.

* Insulin resistance is often accompanied by X syndrome, both regarded as potential triggers of diabetes.