Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic condition characterized by high levels of sugar in the blood. It occurs when the body either does not produce enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. There are different types of diabetes, including type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes, each with its own specific causes and risk factors.
6 Key excerpts on "Diabetes"
eBook - ePubMetabolic Regulation
A Human Perspective
- Keith N. Frayn(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
...11 Diabetes Mellitus Key learning points Diabetes mellitus (commonly called Diabetes) refers to a condition in which blood glucose concentrations are elevated above the normal range. The most common forms are Type 1 Diabetes, in which autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic ß-cells abolishes insulin secretion, and Type 2 Diabetes, which involves a combination of insulin resistance (insulin failing to act normally on its target tissues) and pancreatic ß-cell failure. The metabolic disturbances of Diabetes largely reflect a lack of insulin action. If these are very severe (e.g., in a patient with Type 1 Diabetes who is not treated with insulin), then marked breakdown of stored fuels will occur, and the blood becomes acidic because of the presence of ketone bodies and non-esterified fatty acids: this is the condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis. In Type 2 Diabetes, the metabolic features may not be so severe, but there is often an accompanying disturbance of lipoprotein concentrations similar to the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype described in Chapter 10. This leads to increased risk of atherosclerosis. Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes always involves replacing insulin. There are many classes of drug available for Type 2 Diabetes, which act on various aspects of metabolic regulation covered elsewhere in this book. Both forms of Diabetes are also characterized by the development of longer-term complications in some people. These complications involve damage to blood vessels and nerves. There is strong evidence that the so-called microvascular complications, affecting capillaries (and hence nerves, retina, and kidney), can be reduced by strict control of the blood glucose concentration. The evidence is less strong for the macrovascular complications (atherosclerosis)...
eBook - ePub- Jahangir Moini(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Elsevier(Publisher)
...This may be triggered by environmental factors in people who are genetically susceptible. Destruction of the beta-cells continues over months or years, until their masses have decreased to a point in which insulin concentration can no longer control plasma glucose levels. Type 1 Diabetes usually develops in childhood or adolescence. Type 1 Diabetes is discussed in detail in Chapter 6, Type 1 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Diabetes mellitus involves inadequate secretion of insulin. Early in the disease, insulin levels are often very high, and this situation may continue later in disease development. However, peripheral insulin resistance as well as increased production of glucose by the liver cause insulin levels to be inadequate to normalize levels of plasma glucose. Then, insulin production becomes reduced, and hyperglycemia worsens. Type 2 Diabetes usually develops in adults, becoming more common with aging. Plasma glucose levels reach higher levels following meals in older than in younger adults. This is especially true following high-carbohydrate loads. The levels require more time to return to normal, partly due to increased accumulation of visceral and abdominal fat, along with decreased muscle mass. Today, type 2 Diabetes is more common than ever among children, with childhood obesity becoming an epidemic. In children, 40%–50% of new-onset Diabetes is type 2. More than 90% of adults with Diabetes have this form. Clear genetic factors exist, influencing prevalence of type 2 Diabetes in Hispanics, American-Indians, and Asians as well as other ethnic groups, and in relatives of patients. Several genetic polymorphisms have been identified, but there has been no single causative gene identified. Type 2 Diabetes is discussed in detail in Chapter 7, Type 2 Diabetes...
eBook - ePubMayo Clinic: The Essential Diabetes Book 3rd Edition
How to prevent, manage and live well with diabetes
- M. Regina Castro(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Mayo Clinic Press(Publisher)
...You can enjoy an active and healthy life despite having Diabetes, but you have to be willing to do your part. • • • • • Typical metabolism Glucose is broken down from the sugar in food and enters the bloodstream. Insulin leaves the pancreas and enters the bloodstream. Insulin “unlocks” the cell, letting glucose in to provide the cell with energy. Without insulin, glucose remains locked outside of the cells. Extra glucose is stored in the liver. • • • • • What is Diabetes? The term Diabetes refers to a group of diseases that affect the way your body uses blood glucose, commonly called blood sugar. Glucose is vital to your health because it’s the main source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It’s your body’s main source of fuel. If you have Diabetes — no matter which type — it means you have too much glucose in your blood, although the reasons why may differ. And too much glucose can lead to serious problems. To understand Diabetes, it helps to understand how the body typically processes blood glucose. • • • • • A national epidemic Due largely to the growing number of Americans who are overweight and the aging of the population, Diabetes has become a major health problem in the United States. As your age and weight increase, so does your risk of the most common form of Diabetes — type 2. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 34 million American adults and children — or just over 10% of the population — have Diabetes. Estimates also show that 88 million Americans — about 1 in 3 U.S. adults — have preDiabetes, which increases the risk of Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90% to 95% of all Diabetes cases. Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death and contributes to more than 270,000 deaths in the United States each year...
eBook - ePubThe Everything Health Guide to Diabetes
The latest treatment, medication, and lifestyle options to help you live a happy, healthy, and active life
- Paula Ford-Martin, Ian Blummer(Authors)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Everything(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 1 What Is Diabetes? Diabetes MELLITUS COMES in many flavors—type 1, type 2, gestational, and variations such as maturity-onset Diabetes of the young (MODY) and latent autoimmune Diabetes of adulthood (LADA). What all of these disorders have in common is an inherent inability to self-regulate the levels of blood glucose—or cellular fuel—in the body. A Growing Problem The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has called Diabetes “an emerging epidemic.” The statistics say it all. As of 2007, the CDC put the number of U.S. residents diagnosed with Diabetes at a staggering 17.9 million, with an additional 5.7 million Americans who remain undiagnosed. In other words, nearly 8 percent of the entire U.S. population is living with Diabetes. And another 57 million people in the United States have preDiabetes, or impaired glucose tolerance, a condition that is a precursor to type 2 Diabetes. Many lack important knowledge of the condition and the consequences. Fact Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of the total Diabetes population in the United States and is the seventh leading cause of death in America. But moderate levels of regular physical activity and a healthy diet can cut a person’s chance of developing type 2 by 58 to 71 percent. In addition to the physical and emotional toll it exacts, Diabetes also comes with an enormous price tag. An American living with Diabetes has health care costs that are three times higher than those without the disease. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the disease cost Americans $174 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity in 2007. And it isn’t just Diabetes that’s running up the tab. Nearly $58 billion of those costs were for direct expenses related to chronic diabetic complications, translating to a cost of approximately $11,774 per patient. The Endocrine System Diabetes mellitus is classified as a disease of the endocrine system...
eBook - ePubThe Everything Guide to Managing Type 2 Diabetes
From Diagnosis to Diet, All You Need to Live a Healthy, Active Life with Type 2 Diabetes - Find Out What Type 2 Diabetes Is, Recognize the Signs and Symptoms, Learn How to Change Your Diet and Discover the Latest Treatments
- Paula Ford-Martin, Jason Baker(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Everything(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 1 What Is Diabetes? Diabetes mellitus comes in many varieties—type 1, type 2, gestational, and variations such as maturity-onset Diabetes of the young (MODY) and latent autoimmune Diabetes in adults (LADA). Regardless of the name, people with Diabetes share a common trait: Their bodies have an inherent inability to self-regulate the levels of blood glucose—or cellular fuel. In particular, type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of U.S. Diabetes cases and is one of the most serious and fastest growing health threats to Americans. A Growing Problem The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called Diabetes “an emerging epidemic.” The statistics say it all. As of 2011, the CDC put the number of U.S. residents living with Diabetes at a staggering 25.8 million people, of which 7 million of these individuals don’t even know they have the disease. In other words, 8.3 percent of the entire U.S. population is living with Diabetes. And another 79 million Americans over age twenty (35 percent of the population) have preDiabetes, a condition that is a precursor to type 2 Diabetes. Many lack important knowledge of the condition and the consequences. Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of the total Diabetes population in the United States and is the seventh leading cause of death in America. But moderate levels of regular physical activity and a healthy diet can cut a person’s chance of developing type 2 by 58 to 71 percent. In addition to the physical and emotional toll it exacts, Diabetes also comes with an enormous price tag. An American living with Diabetes has health care costs that are three times higher than those without the disease. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the disease costs Americans $174 billion annually in medical expenses and lost productivity. And it isn’t just Diabetes that’s running up the tab...
eBook - ePubVitamin D
Two-Volume Set
- David Feldman, J. Wesley Pike, John S. Adams(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
...Chapter 94 Vitamin D and Diabetes Conny Gysemans, Hannelie Korf and Chantal Mathieu, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a common disease in the Western world, with an estimated prevalence of 4 to 5%. The majority (95%) of diabetic patients suffer from type 2 Diabetes or non-insulin-dependent Diabetes, a metabolic syndrome characterized by insulin resistance and relatively inadequate insulin production by the beta cell in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans [1]. In this metabolic syndrome it is still unclear whether the primary dysfunction is situated in the peripheral insulin target organs (being mainly liver, fat, and skeletal muscle) [2] or in the beta cell itself [3, 4]. Insulin resistance is induced by obesity and sedentary lifestyle and is also involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. This insulin resistance is probably the major determinant of the disease, but beta cell dysfunction is always present and will determine the severity of the clinical presentation. Type 1 Diabetes, also known as juvenile or insulin-dependent Diabetes mellitus, is a totally different disease in etiology. It has become clear in recent years that this disease is an autoimmune disorder, characterized by a destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas by the body’s own immune system [5]. Whereas type 2 Diabetes is a typical disease of the obese and aging patient, type 1 Diabetes mainly occurs in children and adolescents. Since expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) has been described in the majority of immune and metabolic cell types involved in the pathogenesis of both types of Diabetes [6, 7], scientists and clinicians have been intrigued by a possible role for these molecules in the disease process, but even more so, their therapeutic potential in the prevention of disease progression [7 – 9]...
