Diabetes Mellitus Essay, Research Paper

My Independent Project is on Diabetes Mellitus, type1 Diabetes, or

juvenile-onset diabetes. No matter what you call it, its all the same. Your

pancreas has died and you have no other way to survive other than to inject

insulin multiple times a day. I chose this project because I always enjoy

learning more about the disease I got less than two years ago. Every year the

teams of scientists from the Joslin clinic develop new ways to live with

Diabetes. So far no one has invented a cure, but they are getting closer to

finding it every year. People with Type I diabetes don’t produce insulin and

need regular shots of it to keep their blood glucose levels normal. Almost half

the people with this type of diabetes are age 20 and younger. That’s why Type I

diabetes was once called juvenile-onset diabetes. But that name has been dropped

because Type I diabetes also strikes young adults. People with diabetes have to

give themselves shots multiple times throughout the day so they can monitor

their blood sugar levels because their bodies cant do it on their own. Type1

diabetes can cause different problems if it is not properly taken care of.

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar; sometimes called an insulin reaction, occurs

when blood sugar drops too low. Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, occurs when

blood sugar is too high, and can be a sign that diabetes is not well controlled.

Ketoacidosis, or diabetic coma, is a very serious condition. This means there is

too much sugar in the urinary tract. It occurs if your blood sugars are very

high for a long period of time. This is fatal and can lead to future

complications.

1. http://www.jdfcure.com/NHAnnouncements5.htm Joslin Diabetes Foundation web

page 2. http://www.renkausa.com/type1.htm Renka/ diabetes Home Page 3. http://www.medical-library.org./

Medical Library Online Textbook 4. Dr. Elizabeth Wallach, Joslin Clinic for

Diabetes 5. Sondra Pozan