Information about Diabetes
Ranked #27,938 in Healthy Living, #386,899 overall
What it is and how it's treated
High blood sugar is the condition underlying diabetes. The side effects of not controlling insulin levels, and thus glucose levels, can be fatal.
Sometimes referred to as a disease, diabetes is actually a disorder. It is not communicable (i.e. not contagious) and is not an infection. Here you'll find information about the disorder and how medical researchers are attempting to improve treatments for diabetics.
Contents at a Glance
Types of Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is known as two types - type 1 (juvenile onset) and type 2 (adult onset). In type 1 diabetes, the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed via unclear mechanisms (autoimmunity) for yet unclear reasons. Type 1 diabetes is a life-long commitment to insulin injections based on what the person eats at every meal.
Most people have type 2 diabetes, which occurs over time as the body becomes unable to use insulin or does not produce enough. Obesity is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes in both adults and children.
A third, transient form of diabetes is gestational diabetes, which is a physiological insulin shortage that occurs during pregnancy.
For a complete overview of the types of diabetes and the associated symptoms, see the National Institutes of Health overview of diabetes.
How the Disease Develops
- The role of the pancreas in diabetes
- The pancreas is the gland responsible for releasing the hormone insulin in response to blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels.
More information
Advances in Treating Type 1 Diabetes
- A robotic pancreas to control type 1 diabetes
- Driven by his 7-year-old son's daily blood sugar tests and insulin injections to counter type 1 diabetes, the co-founder of internet sites C...
- Diabetes study shows sperm cells can produce natural insulin in the pancreas
- A study from Georgetown University Medical Center may be the first step in treating insulin-dependent diabetes with a person's own stem cells...
- The discovery of insulin
- From the Nobel Foundation
More information on treatment and care is available from the American Diabetes Association
Diabetes supplies
Preventing diabetes
By controlling your blood sugar levels, you can control the onset of diabetes. Exercise and maintaining a healthy weight are key to postponing or preventing the disease. The Centers for Disease Control has a Diabetes Prevention Program that can assist you in making the right dietary choices to keep your blood sugar levels in the healthy range. Individuals with pre-diabetes (higher than normal blood glucose but not requiring medication or insulin) can also track their blood sugar levels to ensure that any increase to diabetes is treated early, preventing complications.
Patient Awareness and Safety
- Antidepressants and diabetes: Research indicates that patients with impaired glucose tolerance should avoid tricyclics
- Since at least 2006, research has found that antidepressants, particularly tricyclics, increase an individual's risk of developing type II diabetes...
- A look at the safety of Avandia, a popular diabetes drug
- The side effects of Avandia on the heart have been the topic of criticisms aimed at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a decade.
Dietary help for diabetics
Insulin Resistance
One potential issue underlying diabetes is insulin resistance. The insulin receptors don't recognize insulin - so no matter how much insulin a diabetic takes, their blood sugar levels won't normalize. A number of hormones are affected by insulin resistance - and it is part of what is now being called metabolic syndrome. - Hormones affected by insulin resistance
- Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body's insulin receptors are not as receptive to the hormone insulin, causing the pancreas to...
Complications of Diabetes
Untreated diabetes can lead to dysfunction in other organs, including the heart and kidneys.
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Diabetes in the news
- Curing diabetes via surgery, without weight loss
- For all the pounds on her 5'5" frame, she did not meet the criteria for bariatric surgery to help control her type-2 diabetes. Yet six years of medications and attempts at healthy living had failed to rein in her blood glucose, leaving Iaboni terrified ...
- Sanofi aims to expand in diabetes market
- By Elena Berton | PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi aims to build on its diabetes portfolio, which has so far relied on blockbuster insulin Lantus, with a wider range of treatments that could address not just the disease but also its numerous complications, ...
- The New Face of Diabetes Forecast
- ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 31, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The June issue of Diabetes Forecast is all new -- with a modern, fresh look and a sharp focus on diabetes. Diabetes Forecast, a publication of the American Diabetes Association, is the country's ...
- Diabetes doesn't hold IndyCar driver back
- These are the little adjustments you make when you have Type 1 diabetes and you earn a living at 220 mph. Kimball set out from childhood to drive race cars. The diabetes is just something he picked up along the way. No, he says, it hasn't slowed him ...
About Alicia
by AliciaMae
Hello! My name is Alicia. I have a PhD in Experimental Pathology, and am a freelance writer and editor specializing in scientific manuscripts and public... more »
- 40 featured lenses
- Winner of 15 trophies!
- Top lens » Basic Human Biology
Explore related pages
- 10 Ways To Naturally Lower Your Blood Sugar 10 Ways To Naturally Lower Your Blood Sugar
- Insulin Side Effects? Are Diabetes Symptoms Dangerous? Insulin Side Effects? Are Diabetes Symptoms Dangerous?
- PreDiabetes Warning Signs PreDiabetes Warning Signs
- Insulin and Weight Loss or Weight Gain? Insulin and Weight Loss or Weight Gain?
- Control Your Blood Sugar Control Your Blood Sugar
- DIABETES HELP DIABETES HELP
Manage your diabetes
The American Diabetes Association Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook
Amazon Price: $12.25 (as of 05/31/2012)
Being diabetic doesn't mean you can't still enjoy your meals! Be healthy AND happy!!
