Translational Article Special Issue on Glucose Homeostasis Guest Editorial Insulin Resistance and Aging: A Cause or a Protective Response?

If you are bitter at heart, sugar in the mouth will not help you. Traditional Yiddish Proverb METABoLIC syndrome consists of metabolic defects associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes mel-litus, cardiovascular diseases, prothrombotic and inflamma-tory states, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and reduced longevity (1). The metabolic syndrome of aging was originally called insulin resistance syndrome, pointing to insulin resistance as the key factor. In older persons, age-related rise of visceral adiposity and accumulation of senes-cent cells with inflammatory phenotype result in high blood levels of proinflammatory cytokines that likely interfere with insulin signaling (2). The resulting insulin resistance is char-acterized by dysfunctional IRS–PI3–kinase/Akt pathway that causes impaired glucose uptake in muscle and fat cells