%0 Journal Article
%T A defect in жд6 and жд5 desaturases may be a factor in the initiation and progression of insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome and ischemic heart disease in South Asians
%A Undurti N Das
%J Lipids in Health and Disease
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1476-511x-9-130
%X The high prevalence of ischemic heart disease in South Asians has been attributed to abdominal obesity, tobacco use, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, abdominal obesity and lack of exercise [1]. All these factors are known to be associated with insulin resistance that could account for the high incidence of ischemic heart disease in South Asians [2]. Almost 60% of the world's heart disease is expected to occur in South Asians. Hence, it is essential that pathophysiology of the disease as to why it is common in South Asians needs to be understood to develop relevant preventive and therapeutic strategies.In a study that evaluated the differences in postprandial glycemia and insulin sensitivity among young adults of different ethnic origins, it was noted that young South East Asians had the highest postprandial glycemia and lowest insulin sensitivity, whereas European and Arabic Caucasian subjects were the most insulin sensitive and carbohydrate tolerant. These findings suggest that insulin resistance is evident even in lean, young adults of South Asian origin even when they are healthy [3]. In addition, ethnicity appears to be an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes in dysglycaemic persons. In a 2-by-2 factorial double-blind randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of rosiglitazone and ramipril on the primary outcome of diabetes or death in persons meeting criteria for impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose, it was noted that South Asians experienced a smaller, and Latinos a larger preventive effect [4], suggesting that South Asians respond less favorably to the preventive effects of rosiglitazone. But, none of these studies could pinpoint the underlying cause for the higher incidence of insulin resistance in South Asians.Insulin resistance is common in obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension, hyperlipidemia, ischemic (coronary) heart disease, atherosclerosis, ageing, polycystic ovarian disease and the m
%U http://www.lipidworld.com/content/9/1/130