Diabetes Case Reports

Abstrait

Changing Our Mind: Beta Cell Workload Hypothesis

Yoshifumi Saisho

Despite recent advances in treatment options for type 2 diabetes (T2DM), the prevalence of T2DM continues to increase throughout the world [1]. A healthy lifestyle is a key factor in both treatment and prevention of T2DM. A healthy lifestyle cannot be established without self-management ability. Better understanding of the pathogenesis of T2DM will improve self-management ability. T2DM is characterized by insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction, which result in insufficient insulin action, leading to chronic hyperglycemia. However, since obesity is a major risk factor for T2DM, and hyperinsulinemia is also observed in individuals with T2DM, insulin resistance is often emphasized as a characteristic of T2DM. In contrast, since insulin resistance is considered to be accompanied by hyperinsulinemia, beta cell dysfunction is often ignored in these subjects.