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World J Diabetes. May 15, 2021; 12(5): 616-629
Published online May 15, 2021. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v12.i5.616
Role of insulin and insulin resistance in androgen excess disorders
Kursad Unluhizarci, Zuleyha Karaca, Fahrettin Kelestimur
Kursad Unluhizarci, Zuleyha Karaca, Department of Endocrinology, Erciyes University Medical School, Kayseri, 38039, Turkey
Fahrettin Kelestimur, Department of Endocrinology, Yeditepe University Medical School, Istanbul, 34755, Turkey
Author contributions: Unluhizarci K performed the majority of the writing; Karaca Z contributed to the writing of the manuscript and the figures; Kelestimur F approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work noncommercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is noncommercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kursad Unluhizarci, MD, Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Erciyes University Medical School, Kosk Mahallesi, Turhan Feyzioglu Caddesi, No. 42, Melikgazi, Kayseri 38039, Turkey. kursad@erciyes.edu.tr
Received: January 26, 2021
Peer-review started: January 26, 2021
First decision: March 1, 2021
Revised: March 13, 2021
Accepted: April 26, 2021
Article in press: April 26, 2021
Published online: May 15, 2021
Processing time: 99 Days and 17.5 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: In patients with insulin resistance, not all signaling pathways and insulin-responsive tissues are equally affected, and some effects other than the metabolic actions of insulin are overexpressed. Ovaries and the adrenal glands are two examples of tissues remaining sensitive to insulin actions where insulin may contribute to increased androgen secretion leading to androgen excess disorders. Therefore, the role and contribution of hyperinsulinemia triggered by (selective) insulin resistance has paramount importance for elucidating the pathogenesis of these disorders and establishing the right patient for insulin sensitizer therapy.