ABSTRACT
Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) are vital components of mammalian cells, providing an important store of energy and also playing a leading role in membrane structure and function. Genetically induced diabetes in humans and animals or experimentally induced diabetes in animals is associated with a variety of derangements manifested by defects in the utilization of carbohydrates, the synthesis and catabolism of proteins, and the metabolism of lipids, as well as by acid-base disturbances. Administration of appropriate doses of insulin generally restores these metabolic functions to within normal limits. In diabetes, essential fatty acid (EFA) metabolism is disrupted, and this is superimposed on all of the complex abnormalities of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism characteristic of the disease. Research on lipid metabolism in diabetes has provided a wealth of information on changes in fatty acid (FA) composition and metabolism as well as the importance of insulin in these processes.
