The document summarizes current concepts regarding type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), including its pathogenesis and natural history. It describes how:
1) Insulin resistance in tissues like liver, muscle and fat leads to compensatory hyperinsulinemia. Over time, the beta cells cannot sustain high insulin levels and their function declines, resulting in impaired glucose tolerance and eventually diabetes.
2) Multiple metabolic factors like lipotoxicity and glucotoxicity further impair beta cell function in a process known as beta cell failure.
3) Insulin resistance in key tissues drives pathological processes that underlie the development and progression of type 2 DM, such as accelerated hepatic glucose production and impaired glucose uptake in muscle.