Diabetes Essay, Research Paper

Nearly 16 million people in the United States have diabetes, the disease classified as a problem with insulin. The problem could be that your body does not make insulin, does not make enough, or it simply does not know how to use it properly. Diabetes is also known as “diabetes mellitus”.

There are many types of diabetes. The two I will be discussing are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 generally affects young people and requires treatment with insulin. Five to ten percent of Americans with diabetes have this type. People with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin and need regular shots of it to keep their blood glucose levels normal. People who are at risk for type 1 are those who have a family history of the disease, those of age twenty and younger, and Caucasians. Diabetes strikes all races, but is more common among whites.

Type 2 usually develops after the age of forty. This affects ninety to ninety-five percent of Americans with diabetes. Type 2 diabetics produce insulin, but the cells in the body are “insulin resistant”. They do not respond properly to the hormone, so glucose accumulates in the blood. Insulin resistance increases as weight increases and physical activity decreases. Many Americans with type 2 are obese and weigh at least twenty percent more then what is recommended for that person’s height. Some type 2 diabetics must inject insulin, but most people can

control the disease with exercise, weight loss, and oral diabetes medications. People at risk for type 2 diabetes are overweight, do not exercise, and they are over thirty. Type 2 also runs in families.

The symptoms of diabetes are frequent urination, extreme thirst, fatigue, weight loss, hunger, and infections that are harder to treat. Urine increases in volume and frequency when the blood glucose rises. The kidneys are working to filter the blood and rid it of excess sugar. Frequent urination leads to excessive water loss and dehydration, which seriously jeopardizes health. Being extremely thirsty is another symptom. A person becomes thirsty because of the loss of water through urine. Excess sugar concentrates the blood, which also triggers thirst. Fatigue occurs because glucose is unable to be effectively used as a fuel by muscle cells. They are “fuel deprived” and are less able to perform work. Dehydration also causes fatigue. Weight loss is another symptom of a diabetic. It may be slow or rapid. Lots of people with early diabetes actually eat more and still continue to lose weight. This is due to the amount of water loss and the increased breakdown of fat and protein tissues, as the body makes up for poor glucose utilization. Hunger is also a symptom because glucose is unavailable to cells as fuel. Blurry vision develops as the rapidly rising blood sugar levels cause fluid shifts in the lens of the eye. Lastly, infections of the gums, bladder, skin, and vagina become harder to treat. This is

because germs thrive in the high sugar content of blood and body fluids.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are different disorders with different causes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The immune system destroys the insulin producing cells, also known as beta cells, in the pancreas. Type 1 is also known to appear shortly after a viral infection. The viruses do not cause the disease directly. Instead the viruses contain proteins that look similar to proteins found in the pancreas’ insulin producing cells. The immune system therefore mistakes the beta cells for virus particles and destroys them, along with the person’s ability to synthesize insulin. Genetics is also a cause of diabetes. It is not strictly genetic. In fact, most children of diabetic parents do not develop the disease. But scientists have long suspected heredity to play a role because diabetes does run in families. A family history increases the risk of getting the disease. But there has not been a single gene found that directly causes the disease.

Type 2 diabetes also runs in families. The genetic link in type 2 is said to even be stronger then the link in type 1. Obesity is the single most important cause of type 2 diabetes. Carrying excess body fat somehow causes insulin resistance. Those who carry their fat above their hips have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes then those who carry it on their hips. Age is also a cause of type 2 diabetes. Half of all new diagnoses are people over the age of fifty-five. It is not completely clear whether age really is a cause of type 2 diabetes. It is possibly a reflection of the fact that as people get older they are less active and tend to gain weight.

Diabetes is not yet curable, but it can be well managed. Controlling blood sugar is the single most important thing you can do to prevent long-term complications of diabetes. When a person has type 1 diabetes. They must take insulin. Before 1921, when the disease was discovered, people with type 1 died within two years. Today, synthetic insulin is used, which is chemically identical to human insulin.

Type 2 diabetics are able to control their blood sugar through weight control and exercise. Some medications are also taken, along with diet and exercise, to treat type 2 diabetes. Sulfonylurea drugs lower blood sugar levels by stimulating the pancreas to produce and release more insulin. Glipizide and glyburide are commonly prescribed sulfonylurea drugs. Metformin also known as Glucophage decreases the release of glucose stored in the liver. Acarbose helps decrease the after-meal spike in your blood sugar level by slowing the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates in the intestine. Insulin sensitizers are new oral drugs that improve the body’s response to insulin. This makes the body more sensitive to the insulin that already exists. The medications, rosiglitazone(Avandia) and pioglitazone(Actos), help to reduce or eliminate the need for insulin injections in some

people. Some type 2 diabetics may need to take insulin if the blood glucose levels stay above goals set by the doctor. The amount of insulin needed depends on age, weight, exercise level, and how difficult the blood sugar is to control.

In conclusion, diabetes can develop gradually over many years, often without symptoms. It is possible for the disease to remain undetected long enough to prevent damage. Luckily for most diabetics, methods of diabetes control have improved over the years. New medications and easier ways to take insulin allow most people who develop type 1 or type 2 diabetes to live a long and healthy life.

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