Clinical Diabetes Research: Methods and Techniques

A practical «how to» guide for multiple methods in metabolism, with a critical and objective discussion of strengths, limitations, and appropriate applications of the described methods. Edited by the winner of the Oskar-Minkowski Prize of the EASD in 2006 Clinical trials in populations at risk of or with overt diabetes mellitus are being performed all around the world to test novel drugs and approaches to managing these diseases. During the last decade, new methods and techniques have been introduced – and are being developed further – that facilitate monitoring of metabolism and even diagnosis of certain defects in human metabolism. While some of these methods are restricted to research facilities, others are already used in clinical practice. The correct beneficial use of these methods requires knowledge of the nature of the techniques and their clinical relevance. Clinical Diabetes Research: Methods and Techniques provides summaries of established state-of-the art-techniques and introduces the new technologies, evaluating their potential in clinical diabetes research. One section compares the efficacy of all metabolic tests that measure insulin action. Another section describes methods that allow quantification of whole body and intracellular metabolic fluxes relevant to diabetes research. The final section focuses on the planning and pitfalls of clinical studies in the field of metabolism. Each chapter throughout the book combines the theoretical basis of the approach with practical recommendations. There are further chapters on the design of clinical trials and ethical considerations. The publication is timely in view of the impressive development of the methods and techniques with their application to understanding the pathophysiology of diabetes, insulin resistance syndromes, obesity, and the metabolic effects of treatment. Clinical Diabetes Research: Methods and Techniques is of great relevance for researchers (from students and post-docs to principal investigators) in the field of human metabolism, clinical endocrinologists and diabetologists who are involved in clinical studies.