Preface

Insulin is one of the most important treatment modalities of any diabetologist. Insulin treat‐ ment has undergone a vast change in the last 50 years. From its discovery on the morning of 14 November 1921 and the first injection on 23 January 1922 to Canadian 14-year-old Leo‐ nard Thompson, it has become the mainstay for the treatment for diabetes mellitus. Various reports on medical/laboratory fallacy/misconception have increased the necessity to aug‐ ment insulin safety and resourcefulness. Prominence has relocated from simply diagnosing and treating diabetes to identifying and controlling the disease and risk factors, and main‐ taining health, for which insulin plays a vital role. This book stresses prominence on five facets: defective insulin exocytosis of diabetic cells; insulin resistance; translocation to the muscle membrane; decreased hepatic clearance of insulin; and obesity related to insulin re‐ sistance. In addition to this, the book also focuses on the treatment, immunisation and im‐ portance of insurance in diabetes mellitus.

This work would not have been possible without the support of IntechOpen. I am especially indebted to Mr Julian Virag, Author Service Manager, IntechOpen, who has been supportive of my book and who worked actively to provide me with all facilities. I am grateful to all those with whom I have had the pleasure to work during this project. Each of the authors of the different chapters has provided me with extensive professional help and obliged me on this scientific venture wherever possible. I would especially like to thank the authors of the various chapters of the book.

Nobody has been more important to me in the pursuit of this project than the members of my family. I would like to thank my parents, the late Taufiquz Zaman and the late Jaiba Zaman, whose love and guidance are with me in whatever I pursue. Also, I am thankful to my father-in-law, the late Misbahul Hussain, and my mother-in-law, Suraiya Hussain. Most importantly, I wish to thank my loving and supportive wife, Jarin Tanwir Hussain, who is my ultimate role model, and my two wonderful children, Naushad Muntasir Zaman and Umar Sarwar Zaman, who provided me with unending inspiration during the project.

#### **Dr Gaffar S. Zaman**

MBBS, MD (Doctor of Medicine in Biochemistry), FID (Fellowship in Diabetes) FIAN (Fellowship in Applied Nutrition) PGDCR (Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research) Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences College of Applied Medical Science King Khalid University Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Historical Perspective and Brief**

**Introductory Chapter: Historical Perspective and Brief** 

One of the oldest diseases of mankind is diabetes mellitus. It was only during the later part of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries that newer advances relating to the pathology, predisposing factors, management, course and complications of diabetes mellitus were discovered. Yet many more demanding solutions relating to the disease are still required. It has been seen that urbanisation and ageing of the population is definitely related to diabetes mellitus. But it is also true that diabetes mellitus affects all ages and all races. It has been estimated that around 400 million people will be affected by diabetes mellitus by 2030 AD. There are three principal forms of diabetes mellitus: type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). It has been seen that Finland has one of the highest incidence rates of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Type 1 diabetes is most likely a polygenic disease and has a number of potential risk factors. Type 2 diabetes is associated with the interaction of environmental factors and genetic factors. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), which has a great potential to be converted to diabetes mellitus, also carries cardiovascular and other risks. It has been seen that the important risk factors for the occurrence of diabetes are (i) changes in lifestyle due to urbanisation, (ii) hereditary, (iii) resistance to insulin, (iv) accumulation of fat around the waist rather than generalised obesity, (v) increasing age and (vi) ethnicity. It has been seen that long-standing diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased prevalence of macrovascular and microvascular diseases. Other chronic complications such as neuropathy and retinopathy are very common in

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81183

**Overview of Insulin**

**Overview of Insulin**

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Gaffar Sarwar ZamanAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81183

Gaffar Sarwar Zaman

**1. Introduction**

diabetes mellitus.

#### **Introductory Chapter: Historical Perspective and Brief Overview of Insulin Introductory Chapter: Historical Perspective and Brief Overview of Insulin**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.81183

Gaffar Sarwar Zaman Gaffar Sarwar Zaman

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81183
