Diabetes mellitus (DM), commonly known as just diabetes, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased appetite. If left untreated, diabetes can cause many health complications. Acute complications can include diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, or death. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, foot ulcers, damage to the nerves, damage to the eyes and cognitive impairment.Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin, or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus:
Type 1 diabetes results from failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin due to loss of beta cells. This form was previously referred to as "insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (IDDM) or "juvenile diabetes". The loss of beta cells is caused by an autoimmune response. The cause of this autoimmune response is unknown.
Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin properly. As the disease progresses, a lack of insulin may also develop. This form was previously referred to as "non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" (NIDDM) or "adult-onset diabetes". The most common cause is a combination of excessive body weight and insufficient exercise.
Gestational diabetes is the third main form, and occurs when pregnant women without a previous history of diabetes develop high blood sugar levels.Type 1 diabetes must be managed with insulin injections. Prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes involves maintaining a healthy diet, regular physical exercise, a normal body weight, and avoiding use of tobacco. Type 2 diabetes may be treated with medications such as insulin sensitizers with or without insulin. Control of blood pressure and maintaining proper foot and eye care are important for people with the disease. Insulin and some oral medications can cause low blood sugar. Weight loss surgery in those with obesity is sometimes an effective measure in those with type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually resolves after the birth of the baby.As of 2019, an estimated 463 million people had diabetes worldwide (8.8% of the adult population), with type 2 diabetes making up about 90% of the cases. Rates are similar in women and men. Trends suggest that rates will continue to rise. Diabetes at least doubles a person's risk of early death. In 2019, diabetes resulted in approximately 4.2 million deaths. It is the 7th leading cause of death globally. The global economic cost of diabetes-related health expenditure in 2017 was estimated at US$727 billion. In the United States, diabetes cost nearly US$327 billion in 2017. Average medical expenditures among people with diabetes are about 2.3 times higher.
In your 2 diabetes insulin secretion is present, but it is ineffective. It means that the circulating insulin is unable to push all the glucose into cells. They call it insulin resistance.
But at the same time, if synthetic insulin is injected or insulin-secreting drugs are given, they seem to...
Type-2 diabetes patients generally display higher levels of glucose circulating in their blood. While type-1 is considered a lack of insulin disease, in type-2 it is considered that insulin may be present, but it is not working properly. It is called Insulin-resistance.
Most of the drugs for...
I've read that diabetes (Type 2) can be reversed, but not cured.
Can someone explain the difference? If something is reversed and never comes back, then how is that different from being cured? TY
Targeting epigenetic maintenance of beta cell identity should be actively explored -
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-diabetes-results-breakdown-epigenetic.html
Tess Tsai-Hsiu Lu et al. The Polycomb-Dependent Epigenome Controls β Cell Dysfunction, Dedifferentiation, and Diabetes, Cell...
This Science news article discusses mouse research which indicates prion involvement.
Prion like clumps of islet amyloid polypeptide are found in humans with type 2 diabetes.
When injected into healthy mice amyloid clumps formed and the mice developed diabetic symptoms.
Prions are mis-folded...
With this year's Nobel prize for physiology going to autophagy related research, the interest in autophagy and its roles in health and disease is rekindled.
Autophagy is an important cellular process which clears the cell debris and promotes health. So the autophagy process should never be...
What is the pathophysiological basis for development of neuropathy in diabetes. Or is it just statistics that we find neuropathy in many diabetic patients'.
Even though a type 1 diabetic can have insulin resistance - a Type 1 cannot have the disease of Type 2 at the exact same time.
I would agree that a type 1 can have insulin resistance to synthetic insulin that they inject, though that isn't the same as the definition of the disease Type 2, in...
We're usually just told that exercise is a great way to stimulate the movement of glucose into cells. But how does it do that? I would think that insulin resistance is insulin resistance, exercise or no exercise.
Hello everyone,
A 20 year old insulin dependent diabetic female was admitted to casuality in a semiconscious state. Her plasma values are as follows. a) on admission, b)eight hour after therapy with insulin,saline etc.
Na+ a) 127, b)134, normal- 132-144 mmol/l...
Why is it the case that glucagon levels actually rise during diabetes? This seems to be what's implied everywhere I look. What causes the rise? Is it more accurate to say that all the metabolic things that start happening with untreated diabetes is because of the drop in the insulin:glucagon...
Hello everyone,
What I just read is for type 1 diabetes mellitus, it requires an environmental factor (eg virus) and genetic determinant that allows the B cells to be detected as non self. Now I'm not very familiar with autoimmune diseases. My question is why does a virus have to come and...
So I have this friend who's been "eating for two" since the day she found out she was pregnant, but I came across a news story that suggests this could be a bad idea.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/23/science/la-sci-pregnancy23-2010feb23
This is the first time I have heard of...
I've been recently reading up on diabetes and there's some questions I can't find the answers to so if anyone here know please help
Are insulin needles used for type 2 diabetes?
-I keep hearing ppl saying that they are but isn't type 2 when the body doesn't respond to insulin?
Type 2...
Hey guys, I'm just wondering if its possible to diagnose a person with diabetes mellitus if glucose is present in the urine? I mean just by merely glucose.
If so, is there a way to test for the present of glucose (like any chemical ?).
Thanks.
There's discussion in the popular media that potato consumption is related to the onset or aggravation of Type II diabetes. It's true that potatoes are metabolized to virtually pure glucose, but epidemiological studies appear inconclusive. The problem is that the major risk appears to be...
A couple months ago the side/rear of my left canine tooth sort of exploded off for no reason I can think of. I thought at first I must have had a filling in it I'd forgotten about since I can't see back there.
Anyway, I got to the dentist this morning and after examining it she started asking...
Diabetes Mellitus type one is when the beta cells can't produce insulin and is treatable by injection of insulin.
what is the difference between diabete mellitus type one and diabetes mellitus type 2 in terms of the symptons and treatment?
I thought diabetes mellitus type 2 is even if the body...
A study was published last Monday in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, as http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4998690/"
.. that is major .. if it is really true it brings another dimension to the greying population, even in western Europe diabetes is starting to have the same proportions as in...