Diabetes

ByDanielHarbourne

Type1Diabetes

Type1diabetesisalsoknownasdiabetesmellitustype
isaformof
diabetesmellitus

thatresultsfromthe
autoimmune
destructionofthe
insulin
producing
betacells
inthe
pancreas
.Thisbasicallymeansthatthe
pancreasthatregularlymakessurethebalanceofsugarinthebloodis
correctbybreakingitdownusingthechemicalinsulinwhichitcreates.It
actsatypeofkeytobreakdownthelockofthesugars.Howeverwithtype
1diabetesthefactisthatthecellsthatactuallymakeandprovidethe
insulin

Type1Diabetesmellituscanalsobereferredtoasinsulindependent
diabetes,juvenilediabetes,orearlyonsetdiabetes.Peopleusually
developtype1diabetesbeforetheir40yearsofage,usuallyinearly
adulthood,orduringtheiradolescentyears.

Type1diabetesisnowherenearascommonastype2diabetes.
Approximately10%ofalldiabetescasesaretype1.

Patientswithtype1diabeteswillneedtotakeinsulininjectionsfortherest
oftheirlife.Theymustalsoensureproperbloodglucoselevelsbycarrying
outregularbloodtestsandfollowingaspecialdiet.

Type2Diabetes

Diabetesmellitustype2
(formerly
noninsulindependentdiabetesmellitus
or
adultonsetdiabetes
)isametabolicdisorderthatischaracterizedby
hyperglycemia
(highbloodsugar)inthecontextof
insulinresistance
and
relativelackofinsulin.Thisisincontrastto
diabetesmellitustype1in
whichthereisanabsolutelackofinsulinduetobreakdownofisletcellsin
the
pancreas.
Theclassicsymptomsareexcessthirst,frequenturination,
andconstanthunger.Type2diabetesmakesupabout90%ofcasesof
diabetes
withtheother10%dueprimarilytodiabetesmellitustype1and
gestationaldiabetes.Obesityisthoughttobetheprimarycauseoftype2
diabetesinpeoplewhoaregeneticallypredisposedtothedisease
(althoughthisisnotthecaseinpeopleofEastAsianancestry).

Inthiscasethebodydoesnotproduceenoughinsulinforproperfunction
orthecellsinthebodydonotreacttoinsulin.

Somepeoplemaybeabletocontroltheirtype2diabetessymptomsby
losingweight,followingahealthydiet,doingplentyofexercise,and
monitoringtheirbloodglucoselevels.Howevertype2diabetesistypicallya
progressivedisease(itgraduallygetsworse)andthepatientmay
eventuallyhavetotakeinsulinintabletform.

Overweightandobesepeoplehaveamuchhigherriskofdevelopingtype2
diabetescomparedtothosewithahealthybodyweight.Peoplewithalotof
extrafatareespeciallyatrisk.

AnIntroduction

DiabetesorofficiallyDiabetesMellitus,describeagroupofmetabolic
diseasesinwhichthepersonhashighbloodglucose(bloodsugar)either
becauseinsulinproductionisinadequate,orbecausethebodyscellsdo
notrespondproperlytoinsulin,orboth.Patientswithhighbloodsugarwill
typicallyexperiencepolyuria(whenthereisfrequenturination),theycan
becomeincreasinglythirst,andveryhungry.

Diabetesisalongtermconditionthatcauseshighbloodsugarlevels.
Itisestimatedthatapproximatelyover383millionpeoplesufferfrom
diabetesaroundtheworld.

GestationalDiabetes

Gestationaldiabetes
(or
gestationaldiabetesmellitus
,isaconditionin
whichwomenwithoutpreviouslydiagnosed
diabetes
exhibithighblood
glucose
(bloodsugar)levelsduring
pregnancy
(especiallyduringtheirthird
trimester).Gestationaldiabetesiscausedwhen
insulinreceptors
donot
functionproperly.Thisislikelyduetopregnancyrelatedfactorssuchasthe
presenceofplacentallactogenthatinterfereswithsusceptibleinsulin
receptors.Thisinturncausesinappropriatelyelevatedbloodsugarlevels.

Duringpregnancy,somewomenhaveveryhighbloodsugarlevels,and
theirbodiesareunabletotransportalloftheglucoseintotheircells.This
resultsinprogressivelyrisinglevelsofglucoseinthebody.

Themajorityofgestationaldiabetespatientscancontroltheirdiabeteswith
exerciseanddiethabits.Between10%and20%ofcaseswillneedtotake
somekindofbloodglucosecontrollingmedications.Undiagnosedor
uncontrolledgestationaldiabetescanraisetheriskofcomplications,before
andafterchildbirth.thebabymaybebebiggerthanexpected.

Medications

Thegoalistokeepyourbloodsugarlevelasclosetonormalaspossibleto
delayorpreventcomplications.Althoughthereareexceptions,generally,
thegoalistokeepyourdaytimebloodsugarlevelsbeforemealsbetween
70and130mg/dL(3.9to7.2mmol/L)andyouraftermealnumbersno
higherthan180mg/dL(10mmol/L)twohoursaftereating.
Todothis,diabeticsneedtoadministerinsulininjectionsthroughouttheir
day.Therearedifferentwaysofadministeringinsulintothebody.

Injections
WhenpeoplearefirstdiagnosedwithType1diabetestheymustuseafine
needleandsyringeoraninsulinpentoinjectinsulinunderyourskin.
Insulinpenslooksimilartoinkpens,andareavailableindisposableor
refillablevarieties.Needlesareavailableinavarietyofsizes.
Alsoinordertocheckhowmuchinsulintheyneedtoinject,theymustprick
themselveswithasmallerneedletodrawbloodintostripsthatcanbe
placedinabloodsugarcheckertodetermineifthepatienthasahigh,low
ormiddlebloodsugar.Generallybetween4and7isconsideredaverage
bloodsugarlevels
Patientschecktheirbloodsugarevery2hours,andunfortunatelyhaveto
dothisduringthenightaswell.Alsopatientscandeterminehowmuch
carbohydrateandothermineralsandnutrientstheyneed.Lookingina
positivemanner,itallowpatientstonaturallykeepawatchfuleyeovertheir
healthandfitnesslevaels

TheInsulinPump
Thisisamachinedesignedtobefilledwithinsulin.Unliketheconstant
injectionsofdifferentamountsofinsulin,thishasalargesupplyinone
area.Itisgenerallywornonclothing,andconnectedtothebodythrougha
tubeandasiteonthebody.Afreshconnectionmustbemadeevery2
daysand,aninjectiontoconnectthe

tubecanbeinsertedintothearm,stomach,orbum,dependingonthe
patient'spreference.
Thenwhenapersoncheckstheirbloodsugar,theycandeterminethe
amountofinsulintheyneed,andinputtheinformationontotheirpumps,
whichwillthengraduallyadministertheinsulin,throughthetube,intothe
body.
ArtificialPancreas
Anemergingtreatmentapproach,notyetavailable,isclosedloopinsulin
delivery,alsoknownastheartificialpancreas.Itlinksacontinuousglucose
monitortoaninsulinpump.Thedeviceautomaticallydeliversthecorrect
amountofinsulinwhenthemonitorindicatestheneedforit.Therearea
numberofdifferentversionsoftheartificialpancreas,andclinicaltrials
havehadencouragingresults.Moreresearchneedstobedonebeforea
fullyfunctionalartificialpancreascanreceiveregulatoryapproval.

Symptoms

Frequenturination
Excessivethirst
Increasedhunger
Weightloss
Tiredness
Lackofinterestandconcentration
Atinglingsensationornumbnessinthehandsorfeet
Blurredvision
Frequentinfections
Slowhealingwounds
Vomitingandstomachpain(oftenmistakenastheflu)

Whenapersonisfirstdiagnosedwithdiabetestheymaybediagnosedwith
thesesymptoms.Somearecommonforall3typesofdiabetes,however
somearelimitedtobeingsignsthatthedevelopmentoftype2diabetes
mellitusisongoing.

TheCureforDiabetes
Intheworldtodaythereisnoknowncurefordiabetestype1,howevertype
2diabetescanbereversedifpropergoodeatingandexercisehabitsare
adhered.
Researchersarebeginningtogetexcitedagainthatacureornearcure
treatmentcouldcomeasearlyaswithinthenextdecadeortwo.A
diabetes
vaccine
diabetesvaccineisconsistentlybeinginvestigatedtoprovidea
truebiologicalcurefortype1diabetes.
Theaimisforavaccinetobecreatedthatstopstheimmunesystemfrom
attackingthebody'sinsulinproducingbetacells.
Anothercureprospectgainingmomentumis
isletcellencapsulation
,with
stemcellsusedtocreateinsulinproducingcellsthatcanworkwithout
immunesysteminterference.
Researchisongoingtotryandfindapreventativevaccineorevenacure
fordiabetesmellitus