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Diabetes
mellitus, or high blood sugar, results from a deficiency of
insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. When the body doesn't
produce insulin or doesn't use it correctly, it can't make use of
its main fuel -- sugar. Untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness,
vascular disease, kidney disease, neuropathy, and other
problems.
Almost
every one of us knows someone who has diabetes. An estimated 16
million people in the United States have diabetes mellitus. About
half of these people don't know they have it and are not receiving
care for the disorder. Each year, about 800,000 people are
diagnosed with this silent killer.
different types of
diabetes
The 3 main types of diabetes are:
-
Type 1
- Type 2
- Gestational diabetes (for
your women friends)
Type
1
Type 1 diabetes (also known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
or juvenile diabetes) is considered an auto immune disease. An auto
immune disease results when the body's system for fighting
infection (the immune system) turns against a part of the
body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing
beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then
produces little or no insulin.
Someone
with type 1 diabetes needs daily injections of insulin to live. At
present, scientists do not know exactly what causes the body's
immune system to attack the beta cells, but they believe that both
genetic factors and viruses are involved. Type 1 diabetes accounts
for about 5 to 10% of diagnosed diabetes in the United
States.
Type 1
diabetes develops most often in children and young adults, but the
disorder can appear at any age. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually
develop over a short period, although beta cell destruction can
begin years earlier.
Symptoms
include: increased thirst and
urination, constant hunger, weight
loss, blurred vision, and extreme tiredness. If not diagnosed
and treated with insulin, a person can lapse into a
life-threatening coma.
Type
2
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 (also known as
noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or NIDDM). About 90 to 95%
of people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes usually
develops in adults over the age of 40 and is most common among
adults over age 55. About 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are
overweight.
With type
2, the pancreas usually produces insulin, but for some reason, the
body cannot use the insulin effectively. The end result is the same
as for type 1 diabetes -- an unhealthy build-up of glucose in the
blood and an inability of the body to make efficient use of its
main source of fuel.
The
symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually and are not as
noticeable as those in type 1.
Symptoms
include: feeling tired or
ill, frequent urination (especially at night), unusual thirst,
weight loss,blurred,vision, frequent infections, and slow
healing of sores.
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