Editorial [Hot Topic: Type II Diabetes (Executive Editor: Ulf Smith)]

The world is presently experiencing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes predicting an increase from around 200 million presently afflicted to 300 million by 2025. This epidemic will pose tremendous strains on society, not the least in terms of socio-economic costs. Most industrilized countries are already spending 8- 15% of the national health budgets on diabetes and diabetes-related complication. This epidemic is caused by several factors; earlier onset of the disease, longer life-expectancy with an aging population and, not least, due to the changes in life-style with a sedentary living an escalating obesity. Type 2 diabetes is part of a cluster of abnormalities promoting both microvascular and macrovascular disease. In fact , the macrovascular complications (stroke, myocardial infarction etc) account for most deaths and morbidity in type 2 diabetes. Although type 2 diabetes is a complicated and polygenic disorder, important advances have been made in our understanding of its causes, propensity for vascular complications, treatment and prevention. This issue of the current molecular medicine summarizes the current status of type 2 diabetes as reviewed by a number of international experts in their fields. The comprehensive reviews cover both molecular mechanisms and type 2 diabetes patients as they present themselves in the clinical setting. Although type 2 diabetes has been desceribed as a geneticist's “nightmare” important advances have been made both in terms of genes as well as the molecular mechanisms involved in the pancreas and the key target tissues for insulin action; the liver, skeletal muscles and adipose tissue. Type 2 diabetes is associated with profound changes in the genomics of most cells in the body. This is reflected by the reviews deal with current treatment, focusing on the promising PPARγ ligands, new potential targets for treatment as well as how type 2 diabetes can be prevented. I am grateful to all authors who willingly accepted to contribute to this issue. I am sure that the reader of the Current Molecular Medicine appreciate your contribution as much as I do.