title: Microvascular dysfunction: causative role in the association between hypertension, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome?
abstract: The metabolic syndrome defines a clustering of metabolic risk factors that confers an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The metabolic syndrome seems to have multiple etiological factors and microvascular dysfunction may be one potential factor explaining the clustering of multiple metabolic risk factors including hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Microvascular dysfunction may increase not only peripheral vascular resistance and blood pressure, but may also decrease insulin-mediated glucose uptake in muscle. The present article summarizes some of the data concerning the role of microvascular dysfunction in the metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, VU Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. e.serne@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Erik H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Serné
authors.forename: Renate T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: de Jongh
authors.forename: Etto C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Eringa
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ijzerman
authors.forename: Michiel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: de Boer
authors.forename: Coen D A
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Stehouwer
mesh_terms: D002199:Capillary Permeability; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D015398:Signal Transduction