Beta-cell Insufficiency
Abstract
Overview
‘Beta-cell failure’ is a frequently used term to describe the structural and functional inability of the cells to fulfil their metabolic
responsibility. This editorial reviews the anatomy and physiology of the beta cell, and describes factors which regulate this.
The authors focus on semantics, comparing the phrases ‘beta-cell failure’, ‘functional mass’, and ‘beta-cell insufficiency’. They
suggest the use of ‘beta-cell insufficiency’, with descriptors such as ‘partial’ and ‘complete’, or ‘reversible’ and ‘irreversible’, to convey betacell
dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. A three-phase taxonomic structure: beta-cell sufficiency, partial/reversible beta-cell insufficiency and
complete/irreversible beta-cell insufficiency, is proposed as a tool to understand pathophysiology and facilitate therapeutic decision-making.
Article Information
Disclosure
Sanjay Kalra and Yashdeep Gupta have
nothing to declare in relation to this article. No funding
was received in the publication of this article. This article
is a short opinion piece and has not been submitted
to external peer reviewers, but was reviewed by he
editorial board for accuracy before publication.
Correspondence
Sanjay Kalra, Bharti Hospital,
Karnal 132001, India. E: brideknl@gmail.com
Access
This article is published under the
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License,
which permits any non-commercial use, distribution,
adaptation and reproduction provided the original
author(s) and source are given appropriate credit.
Received
2017-04-03T00:00:00
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