Racial differences in the relation between blood pressure and insulin resistance

Article Abstract:

Insulin resistance is frequently observed among patients with high blood pressure (hypertension), and may even cause it by stimulating the autonomic nervous system, increasing salt retention in the kidneys, or other effects. However, several studies have been unable to demonstrate a relationship between insulin concentrations and blood pressure. Insulin resistance and high levels of insulin in the blood (hyperinsulinemia) are common among Pima Indians, but they are less likely to suffer from high blood pressure than the general population. One hundred sixteen Pima Indians, 53 whites and 42 blacks were studied to determine the relationship between insulin and blood pressure. Although the Pima Indians were by and large fatter, had higher plasma insulin concentrations, and were more resistant to insulin than whites or blacks, there was no significant difference in average blood pressure among the groups. The racial differences in this and other studies, including studies of Chinese men on Taiwan, and Hindu, Muslim, Chinese and Creoles on Mauritius, indicate that positive relations between blood insulin levels, insulin resistance, and blood pressure are not universal. The effect of insulin may be a result of interaction with other variables. It is known that blacks with normal blood pressure are more sensitive to salt, secrete less aldosterone (a hormone regulating salt and potassium in the blood), and have lower plasma renin (an enzyme affecting blood pressure) activity than whites. It is also possible that insulin does not affect blood pressure, and that both insulin and blood pressure are affected through other inherited or acquired mechanisms. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Physiological aspects, Demographic aspects, Blood pressure, Race, Pimas

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Where all the glucose doesn't go in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Article Abstract:

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is characterized by a decrease in insulin-activated glucose uptake into tissue, or insulin resistance. The tissue that is mainly responsible for insulin resistance is the skeletal muscle. Most of the glucose taken up into skeletal muscle is metabolized to carbon dioxide and water or converted to lactate or glycogen, a storage product of glucose. Insulin resistance in NIDDM results mainly from a decrease in insulin-activated glycogen production in the skeletal muscle. This was difficult to prove because methods of measuring glycogen in the skeletal muscle were not sensitive enough to detect small changes. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, a technique involving the use of electromagnetic energy, to measure glycogen, one group was able to demonstrate that glycogen production was decreased in the muscle of patients with NIDDM as compared to that in normal subjects. There are many sites for a defect resulting in abnormalities of insulin-activated glycogen production by muscle, including insulin binding to its receptor, a protein site on the cell membrane, or glucose uptake into tissue, or enzymes involved in glycogen production. It has yet to be established whether insulin resistance associated with decreased glycogen production in muscle is a cause or result of NIDDM. Recent studies suggest that insulin resistance precedes the development of NIDDM. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Analysis, Causes of, Glycogen metabolism, Glycogenolysis

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Time of onset of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and genetic variation in the beta3-adrenergic-receptor gene

Article Abstract:

A mutation in the gene for the beta3-adrenergic receptor may play a role in the development of obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). This receptor is found in fat tissue and regulates fat metabolism. Researchers used DNA analysis to study the receptor gene in 390 native Americans with NIDDM and 252 without. They were from two tribes prone to high rates of obesity and NIDDM. Glucose metabolism, metabolic rate, and insulin response were evaluated in a group of 210 nondiabetic participants. Participants with the mutation on both chromosomes were not more likely to have diabetes, but they were more likely to develop diabetes at a younger age. They also tended to be fatter and to have lower metabolic rates.

Genetic aspects, Epinephrine, Adrenergic receptors

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