Omentin - a new adipokine within the new definition of the metabolic syndrome (IDF 2005)

Abstract

The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome became recently a controversial conception. Thus the associations between hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia, obesity, hypertension and atherosclerosis are the field of especially interesting research. The progress of our understanding into the pathogenesis of elements of the metabolic syndrome may help to explain the background of many diseases of westernised and developing societies. The endocrine role of the visceral adipose tissue is the focus of a number of scientific investigations. One of the mediators secreted by adipose tissue is omentin, a protein that functions as a factor increasing insulin sensitivity. Further research of the role of this adipokine may help to dissect the pathogenic background of the metabolic syndrome and consequently clarify its diagnosis.