The field of 'lipidology' has been building momentum in recent years and continues to evolve with the field of medicine as a whole. The field has been growing rapidly in response to unfortunate demographic trends that place an increasing number of people, in particular in the United States, at risk for coronary heart disease and epidemic levels of obesity, which coincide with a surge in new cases of diabetes mellitus. In addition, one of the major causes of pancreatitis in developed countries includes hyperlipidemia. Therefore, lipid biology is important in the context of the pancreas, both during our normal digestive process and its impact on diseases affecting the pancreas, such as diabetes, pancreatitis, and cancer.
Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.