Potentially novel surrogate biomarker for diagnosing insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity are growing global pandemics that shares the common characteristic of insulin resistance (IR). IR leads to progressive β-cell failure, worsening T2DM and its cardiovascular complications. Thus, early diagnosis of IR is important to prevent and reverse β-cell dedifferentiation. However, there is a lack of accessible, non-invasive and affordable tools to early diagnose and stratify IR. The gold standard method used in the research setting is the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, however it is invasive, laborious, expensive and difficult to apply at a large scale. Hou et al presents a potential novel surrogate biomarker for diagnosing IR in T2DM. Magnetic resonance imaging derived biomarkers can potentially become the accessible and non-invasive alternative to the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, enabling the timely diagnosis of IR with potential clinical applications in T2DM treatments and preventative care.