An introduction to diabetes

Diabetes

  Approximately 422 million people suffer from diabetes in the world, some of whom are unaware that the condition impacts them. With the number of cases of diabetes on the rise, it is important to understand what it is and how it can be identified.

What is diabetes?
  Blood glucose concentration in the body is something which should remain constant in the body in order for it to function correctly. The mechanism that controls this is the interaction between the hormones insulin) and glucagon in the way that insulin lowers blood glucose concentration and glucagon will increase it. Insulin is the hormone of importance here. In the pancreas, there is an area of exocrine tissue called the Islets of Langerhans which contains beta cells that produce the insulin. When there is a malfunction, and the system does not behave as it should, the individual will experience diabetes mellitus, otherwise known simply as diabetes where the blood glucose concentration will remain at a high level as the insulin is not able to lower it.

There are two types of diabetes, each with their own effects and methods of treatment.
·         Type 1 diabetes: when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. At present, the cause for this is unknown so only the symptoms of it can be managed.
·         Type 2 diabetes: this relates to when the body is able to produce insulin but the correct response is not elicited, or the beta cells do not produce enough. This is the most common type of diabetes.
·         There is also the term pre-diabetes to describe when a persons’ blood glucose concentration is above the normal level but they do not have full-blown diabetes.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?
One should definitely seek medical attention if the following symptoms are experienced:
·         Constant fatigue
·         An increase in the number of times one urinates, specifically if this occurs more at night
·         Increased thirst
·         Loss of weight
·         Blurry vision
·         Large appetite even when there are no specific changes to diet

How is diabetes treated?
Type 1: This is described as insulin-dependent, as regular injections of insulin are needed to control the condition. An individual must test their blood to determine the glucose concentration so they can administer the correct amount of insulin, which is crucial as too little insulin may lead to hyperglycaemia and can cause death.
Type 2: It is salient that someone with type 2 diabetes monitors their diet (carbohydrate intake) and their exercise levels, often entailing an increase in physical activity. When this alone does not suffice, drugs can be incorporated that have different functions, for example, to decrease the rate at which the body is able to absorb glucose from the intestine.
Currently, research is being done into the use of stem cells to treat diabetes, to overcome the demands for a pancreas transplant for those with type 1 diabetes, as well as the fact that people would no longer need to inject themselves with insulin and there is a decreased chance of rejection. However, being able to control the level of differentiation of stem cells is not fully understood, but this could most certainly be the next step in advanced treatment.

I hope you found this post interesting! Stay tuned for next week’s post from Tim J

Vicale Czan Alfanti
Universal Medicine

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes/
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/?referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/

OCR A Biology textbook

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