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Joslin Study Identifies Key Factor That Links Metabolic Syndrome; Finding May Help Millions At High Risk Of Cardiovascular Disea
By Anna Ohlden | February 5th 2008 12:31 PM | Print | E-mail | Track Comments

BOSTON, February 5 /PRNewswire/ --

A new study led by researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center has identified insulin resistance in the liver as a key factor in the cause of metabolic syndrome and its associated atherosclerosis, disorders that put tens of millions of Americans at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

The findings, published in the February issue of Cell Metabolism, provide not only an understanding of how metabolic syndrome occurs, but also pinpoint a target for treatment of the condition. This represents the work of Sudha Biddinger, M.D., Ph.D., and a team led by C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., Head of the Joslin Research Section on Obesity and Hormone Action and the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"This is one of the first true insights into the role of the liver in the metabolic syndrome and provides guidance for future therapies," said senior investigator Dr. Kahn, an internationally recognized researcher in diabetes and metabolism. "Showing this connection between atherosclerosis and insulin resistance is one of the most dramatic findings I've seen in 35 years."

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of medical problems related to insulin resistance, including obesity, glucose intolerance, hypertension, lowered HDL ("good") cholesterol and elevated triglycerides. Together these are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries that leads to heart attack and stroke.

"This study clearly indicates that metabolic syndrome is not merely a collection of abnormalities that should be considered and treated independently, as some experts have advocated," said Kahn and Biddinger. "Rather, it appears that metabolic syndrome is truly a group of closely linked disturbances in glucose and cholesterol metabolism that stem from a defect in insulin signaling in the liver."

The research was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and The Iacocca Foundation. Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's largest diabetes clinic, diabetes research center and provider of diabetes education. For more information on Joslin, call +1-800-JOSLIN-1 or visit http://www.joslin.org.

Web site: http://www.joslin.org

Rachel Whitehouse of Joslin Diabetes Center, +1-617-732-2620, Rachel.Whitehouse@joslin.harvard.edu