ABSTRACT
There is a strong role for impaired insulin secretion in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes, in particular due to a deficit in the early phase response to glucose load, as well as increasing insulin resistance (1,2). It is believed that most subjects developing type 2 diabetes pass through a phase of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). In this process-following the glucose toxicity theory-excessive postprandial hyperglycemia may act in a vicious circle (7), with harmful effects on both the insulin-producing beta-cells (3) and insulin sensitivity (4), leading to chronic hyperglycemia and progressive deterioration of diabetes, as shown in the U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) (5).
