Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance independently correlate with poor stroke outcomes in type 2 diabetes, although their causative role is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine experimentally whether normalizing insulin resistance rather than hyperglycemia before stroke improves stroke outcomes in type 2 diabetes. To answer this question, we specifically normalized either hyperglycemia or insulin resistance in obese, type 2 diabetic mice before inducing stroke. We show that targeting insulin resistance, rather than hyperglycemia, before stroke in type 2 diabetes is crucial to improving stroke outcomes.
Vercalsteren et al. (Tue,) studied this question.