PPAR ligands: potential therapies for metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MS), a condition characterized by multiple related clinical disorders including insulin resistance, central obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and heart disease, is an increasingly prevalent disease in industrialized societies. The intense research interest in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), by both the pharmaceutical industry and academia, stems largely from the well-documented therapeutic actions of their synthetic agonists in alleviating several of the maladies associated with MS. This report focuses on the current understanding of the mechanisms of action of PPAR agents and their clinical use in the context of MS.