[Insulin receptor function in subjects with above-normal body weight]

The insulin receptor binding ability was studied in 26 persons with above normal body mass (15 women and 11 men), mean age 44.15 +/- 10.1 years without family history of diabetes mellitus. According to the degree of obesity they were classified into 3 groups. In the persons with I-II degree of obesity parallel with the strongly reduced number of insulin receptors (total and the high affinity) an increase of the receptors affinity appears as a compensatory mechanism which ensures appropriate insulin receptor binding. In the persons with III-IV degree of obesity the number of insulin receptors is strongly reduced but the receptor affinity does not differ from that of the controls with normal body mass. The receptor changes in the persons with excessive obesity are similar to those found by the authors in patients with newly discovered non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. This allows the suggestion that these persons are in a potential risk of developing diabetes mellitus.