Multi-Tracer PET Quantitation of Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The purpose of this research is to use a recently developed triple-tracer positron emission tomography (PET) method to study skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone made by your body to control the blood sugar level. "Resistance' to insulin could cause poor blood glucose control (blood sugar levels that are higher than normal). We want to use this new method to image (look at) the following three things: 1) how insulin affects blood flow in skeletal muscle 2) how insulin affects glucose (sugar) transport (movement) into muscle, and 3) how insulin affects glucose metabolism (breakdown) in skeletal muscle of healthy individuals. PET imaging is a relatively non-invasive way to obtain a "metabolic picture" of body organs and has been used successfully to study brain, heart and more recently skeletal muscle. In this research study, we will use PET, with three radioactive tracers (markers), to study skeletal muscle glucose transport in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM) and in non-diabetic individuals who are either normal weight or overweight/obese