Le syndrome métabolique a déjà une histoire

As early as in the XVIIIth century and consecutively to pathoanatomical observations, Jean-Baptiste Morgagni was warned by the fact that such disorders as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and hyperuricemia could be linked. The relationship between such diseases was confirmed later on, at the beginning of the past last century. During the second part of the XXth century, this strong association with major overlap among these diseases was referred as the “plurimetabolic syndrome”. Jean Vague was the first to point out the putative role of adipose tissue distribution as risk factor for cardiovascular events. The “metabolic syndrome” wording was used for the first time in 1975. However, Gerald M. Reaven dubbed it “syndrome X” and described its relationship with insulin resistant states and cardiovascular diseases. During the subsequent years, many committees and scientific organizations were led to propose several definitions related either to visceral obesity or insulin resistance. However, none of them was found to be consensual. Presently, regardless of the definition used, the metabolic syndrome appears as the heterogeneous cluster of both clinical and biological abnormalities based on the concept that the increased risk related to the sum of these conditions is greater than the minor role played by each component part.