title: Inflammation and insulin resistance.
abstract: Over a hundred years ago, high doses of salicylates were shown to lower glucose levels in diabetic patients. This should have been an important clue to link inflammation to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the antihyperglycemic and antiinflammatory effects of salicylates were not connected to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance until recently. Together with the discovery of an important role for tissue macrophages, these new findings are helping to reshape thinking about how obesity increases the risk for developing T2D and the metabolic syndrome. The evolving concept of insulin resistance and T2D as having immunological components and an improving picture of how inflammation modulates metabolism provide new opportunities for using antiinflammatory strategies to correct the metabolic consequences of excess adiposity.
authors.affiliation: Joslin Diabetes Center and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. steven.shoelson@joslin.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Shoelson
authors.forename: Jongsoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Allison B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Goldfine
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000276:immunology*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents