Malnutrition-modulated diabetes mellitus (MMDM): a state of review

Abstract

Diabetes is a worldwide public health problem and is progressively increasing in Third World countries, particularly in African continent and Southern Asia due to low socio-economic standards. Since malnutrition and undernutrition with cassava consumption and cyanide intoxication have been thought to be the major cause of diabetes in tropical countries, WHO Expert Committee on Diabetes suggested, in its report, that the relationship between Malnutrition-Modulated Diabetes Mellitus (MMDM) and high cassava consumption should be clarified. Be that as it may, many recent studies have failed to establish a link between tropical diabetes and cassava malnutrition. In this paper, we shed light on MMDM in order to reach a consensus on its clinical, physiological and pathogenic features. Keywords : Tropical diabetes, cassava, immune disease, clinical features. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences Vol. 2 (2) 2008: pp. 230-238