and inflammation may be involved as well. The beta cell loss in type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by reduced beta cell number rather than size. Hyperglycaemia becomes clinically significant once insulin over-secretion can no longer compensate for the degree of insulin resistance.

It remains an unsolved question if impaired pancreatic beta cell function or hypersecretion of insulin represent the primary event in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Both scenarios may be cause and consequence, and it