[Insulin resistance and oxidative stress]

Insulin resistance syndrome and its close relationship with metabolic obesity are discussed in this paper in the light of the modern view concerning the pathogenic and pathophysiological mechanisms. The attention is focused on oxidative stress as imbalance between the pro-oxidant and the antioxidant systems in the organism, assumed to have a great significance for the development of many of the insulin resistance syndrome's complications. A special attention is paid on a carbonyl stress as a link between the hyperglycemia and the oxidative stress emerging in the final stages of insulin resistance. The experimental and clinical data, suggesting the relationship between oxidative stress and insulin resistance in basal as well as in provoked conditions, are summarised.