Introduction

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is at present one of the major health problems in Europe and North America affecting at least 1 per cent of the population. Moreover, although the acute and potentially lethal metabolic derangements of diabetes can be controlled with insulin therapy, the long-term complications of the disease which may involve the cardiovascular, renal and nervous sytems reduce life expectancy by as much as a third. In spite of intensive research into the aetiology and pathogenesis of the disease many aspects of diabetes remain a mystery. However, it is now clear that diabetes is not a single disease entity, but rather a syndrome composed of a number of diseases that share glucose intolerance as a common feature. Two major types of primary diabetes mellitus are now recognised clinically, Type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDD) and Type 2 or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDD). They both appear to result from a complex interaction between the individual and the environment and in some cases the outcome of this interaction may be influenced by the genetic constitution of the individual.