Pathophysiological Insights into Cardiovascular Health in Metabolic Syndrome

Copyright © 2012 Yingmei Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension often cluster together as the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases [1–3]. Even a modest increase in body weight may lead to a rather significant increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Ever since its appearance in the medical vernacular three decades ago, the term " metabolic syndrome " or " cardiorenal metabolic syndrome " has caught sufficient attention due to its unfavorable impact on the overall human health in particular cardiovascular diseases. In fact, metabolic syndrome is not a particular disease but rather a cluster of symptoms encompassing large waist circumference, hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance, all commonly associated with the increased prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus [3]. Patients with metabolic syndrome display nonspecific symptoms, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Ample of epidemiological, clinical, and experimental evidence has defined a unique role of insulin resistance and central obesity for the occurrence of metabolic syndrome and, later on, type 2 diabetes [3, 4]. However, confirmed metabolic syndrome provides little therapeutic value or guidance other than treating each single component individually, which may or may not reduce the overall cardiovascular risks. To better address the health care issues of metabolic syndrome, intensive effort has been geared towards elucidation of the contributing cardiovascular risk factors and how they contribute to metabolic syndrome. Several contributing factors have been identified for the onset and development of metabolic syndrome. In particular, food intake and lifestyle are perhaps the most devastating factors responsible for the rapid rise in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome [5]. Excessive caloric intake and inadequate physical activity are deemed the modern lifestyle traits responsible for overweight and obesity [6]. In addition, socioeconomic factors also play an important role in the ever-increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome including physical exercise, technological advances, and higher workload. Therefore, there is a critical need for a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for regulation of satiety, lipid metabolism, energy balance, thermogenesis, adiposity, and weight gain, as well as central and peripheral regulation of metabolic processes. Given that recent advances in biology and medicine have introduced new technologies to study the genetics and pathophysiology of metabolic …