Mathematical modeling of diabetes

Diabetes is the leading endocrine disease affecting socioeconomic development and has multiple pathogenic pathways. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common type of diabetes primarily caused by obesity and a lack of exercise. Secondary diabetes is a subtype of diabetes including glucose metabolism disorders correlated with various hormonal diseases. Mathematical models that provide a quantitative approach to investigating the long-term progression of diabetes are desired for the study of the durable effect of anti-disease agents at different disease stages. In particular, models depicting the intricate dynamic interactions between hormonal disorders and glucose metabolism can facilitate the investigation of the underlying mechanisms of secondary diabetes. In this talk, I will introduce the modeling framework established for the study of obesity-related T2D and hyperthyroidism-induced diabetes. We would test the ability of the obesity-related T2D model in capturing the complexity of the disease and demonstrate how the hyperthyroidism-induced diabetes model can benefit the treatment.