 Rationale: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in diabetic patients due to both a high event rate and a worse outcome. A pharmacological intervention that reduces ischemia-reperfusion-injury would improve the outcome of diabetic patients after a cardiovascular event. The thiazolidinedione derivatives are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ PPARγ ligands that are approved for the treatment of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Animal data suggest that PPARγ ligands can protect against ischemia-reperfusion-injury by improving insulin responsiveness. However, no human data on these beneficial effects are available. Recently, our group developed a human in vivo model to quantify ischemia-reperfusion-injury. In this model annexin A5 scintigraphy is used to visualize early and reversible cellular membrane changes that occur in the forearm skeletal muscle vascular bed after ischemic exercise. In the present study, we will use this approach to address the following hypothesis: Rosiglitazone reduces ischemia-reperfusion-injury in humans with insulin resistance, selected by using the criteria for the metabolic syndrome. 