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What is Diabetes ?
Diabetes can be defined as the
condition in which the body is unable to use insulin (the
hormone produced by pancreas) because of its inadequate
secretion. Insulin is the hormone that is responsible for
converting starch into energy. Due to this the blood sugar level
increases resulting in various complications ranging from loss
of vision to even coma! Diabetes or Diabetes Mellitus, as it
termed medically, also increases the chances of stroke and other
heart problems. Studies show that almost 17 million people in
the United States suffer from diabetes.
There are three kinds of diabetes that have been recognized in
the last thirty years. They are:
• Type 1
• Type 2
• Gestational
Though these are the most commonly accepted types of diabetes’,
there may be patients who may not fall in any of these and
display characteristics that are very unique.
Type 1
This is more commonly known as juvenile diabetes as it is more
common to young children. This is caused due to the loss of the
beta cells (that produce insulin) that are present in the
pancreas. Almost 10% of the diabetes population in Europe and
North America suffer from type 1 diabetes. The beta cell loss
happens because of the autoimmune destruction that is
accompanied by antibodies that affect the insulin production.
Thus the primary treatment for the Type 1 diabetes is
replacement of insulin. If there is very less or no insulin in
the body, it can give rise to ketosis which leads to diabetic
keto acidosis.
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Type 2
Type 2 diabetes is caused when there is a combination of two
factors – inadequate secretion of the hormone insulin and
improper reactivity with insulin. This condition is also called
reduced insulin sensitivity. At the initial stages the insulin
in the blood level is extremely high. With the course of time,
the sensitivity towards insulin reduces greatly giving rise to
the necessity of replacing the insulin. This form of diabetes
affects almost 90% of the total diabetic population and gives
rise to complications like obesity especially in the old age.
But it has been observed that from the last few decades, type 2
diabetes is also affecting a lot of youngsters and adolescents.
Gestational Diabetes
This form is also caused due to the combination of insufficient
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and improper responsiveness to
insulin, somewhat similar to the type 2. However, this condition
happens during pregnancy and usually disappears after child
birth. Though this is a temporary condition, gestational
diabetes can be harmful for the mother and the fetus. Studies
have shown that almost 40% of the expecting mothers affected by
gestational diabetes are prone to type 2 diabetes in the later
stages of their lives.
Common
symptoms
It is difficult to recognize the symptoms of diabetes as they
are very common and appear harmless. The symptoms include:
• Excessive thirst
• Recurrent urination
• Mood swings like irritability
• Exhaustion
• Extreme hunger
• Blurred vision
Research has shown that with an early detection and treatment,
diabetes can be cured. Hence on the appearance of any one or all
of these symptoms, medical attention should be sought
immediately.
Complications
Though diabetes can be controlled to a great extent by insulin
injections, in extreme conditions it can pose great health
hazards. These include very high chances of heart problems,
renal or kidney failure (thus arises the need for dialysis; this
is very common in today’s developed countries), blindness caused
by retinal damage, damaging of the nerves, impotence and even
gangrene which can lead to amputation of body parts.
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The
history
The history of diabetes goes back to the Middle Ages; but it was
only in the 20th century when various medications and drugs were
invented to combat this illness.It was Joseph von Mering and
Oscar Minkowski who had discovered the role of pancreas in
diabetes. Researches were done on dogs to understand its role.
In the year 1889, scientists discovered that when the organ
pancreas was removed from the dog’s body, it developed diabetics
(displayed all the signs) and died. Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer
was the first to suggest diabetes was caused due to the
deficiency of a particular chemical produced by the pancreas.
This substance was named as insulin from the Latin word insula
that means island, in reference to the islets of Langerhans that
are responsible for the production of insulin in the pancreas.
In 1921 Sir Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best
showed the world that the diabetes in the dogs can be
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reversed by giving them an extract
from the islets of Langerhans. This led to the birth of insulin
injections and the first patient received this in the year 1922.
Banting and Best were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923
for this breakthrough discovery. In spite of the invention of this
treatment, diabetes was responsible for a large number of deaths; in
1927 almost 48% deaths were caused by this disease in Malta.
Some
interesting facts about diabetes
Diabetes is derived from the Greek word diabainein which means
“passing through”. The term Mellitus was added by Thomas Willis in
the year 1675 which in Latin means honey sweet; Willis noticed that
a diabetic person’s blood and urine has a sweet taste. By 1776 it
was discovered that the blood owed its sweet taste to the excess
amount of sugar that was released in the person’s blood. In the
ancient Chinese culture, diabetes was detected by observing whether
‘ants’ were attracted to the person’s urine and was termed as ‘sweet
urine ailment’. While the common diabetes usually refers to diabetes
mellitus, there is another rare condition called diabetes insipidus.
In this condition the blood and urine is not sweet and is caused
when the kidney or pituitary gland is damaged.
Statistics
According to the World Health Organization report published this
year, about 171 million people are affected by diabetes and by the
year 2030 this number is likely to double. Asia and Africa are
expected to be the worst affected due to the change in their
lifestyle and eating habits that are akin to the “Western style”. It
is to be noted that diabetes is considered to be one of the top 5
major illnesses in today’s world. The rate of the people affected by
diabetes is increasing considerably for the last 20 years in North
America. In the year 2005 the number of people affected in the
United States was about 20.8 million. The American Diabetics
Association has revealed that about 6.2 million people are not aware
of their illness and about 41 million are extremely prone to this
disease.
Diabetes and heart diseases and
prevention
Today diabetes is one of the major causes for heart related problems
like cardio attacks and stroke. Diabetes is one of the major risk
factors for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular-related
diseases. This is because most of the patients suffering from
diabetics have high blood pressure that contributes to cardio
vascular diseases along with other complications. It is advisable
for the diabetic patients to indulge in physical workouts,
maintaining a proper and healthy diet and quitting smoking.
Following a healthy life style improves the blood sugar, cholesterol
and blood pressure levels that are beneficial for the body.
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Article Contributed By: Sukanaya Banerjee
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