Islet Amyloid and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Almost a century ago, in 1901, Eugene L. Opie described “hyaline degeneration of the islands of Langerhans” in the pancreas of patients with hyperglycemia (Figure 1).1 A relation with diabetes mellitus was suggested, although at that time insulin had not yet been identified as an islet protein. The chief component of the proteinaceous deposits described by Opie — later referred to as islet amyloid — was identified in 1986 as a protein of beta-cell origin named islet amyloid polypeptide.2 Islet amyloid is a characteristic pathological finding in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, being present in more than 90 percent. . . .