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Abstract
Nuclear receptors (NR) are transcription factors that are regulated by ligand binding. Several members of this family regulate glucose and lipid metabolism in vivo and consequently play a major role in the overall energy balance of the host. Serendipitously, some of these NRs were found to bind to known drugs for the treatment of dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance and diabetes, proving that these receptors may also play a role in these diseases. Because of this historical success as a target for clinically acceptable drugs, there is now renewed effort at discovering further receptor modulators for the metabolic diseases. This review will summarise the current understanding and treatment of the metabolic diseases, describe the role of specific NRs and evaluate their potential as therapeutic targets.