Types of Diabetes (Part – 01)

Types of Diabetes (Part – 01) 

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce

enough insulin or when the body cannot use the insulin it produces effectively.

During the digestion process, the food we get is broken down into different

nutrient sources. When eating bread, rice, and pasta that contain carbohydrates,

the body breaks it down into sugar (glucose). When glucose is in the

bloodstream, it needs help—a "key"—to get into its final destination where

it's used in the body's cells. That key is insulin. Insulin is a hormone that

controls blood sugar. Uncontrolled high blood sugar over time causes serious

damage to many body systems, especially nerves and blood vessels. Diabetes

is one of the major non-communicable diseases.

   The World Health Organization claims that in 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18

and over-had diabetes. And in 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 

million deaths. Moreover, 48% of deaths before the age of 70 are due to

diabetes. And between 2000 and 2016, the premature death rate from diabetes

increased by 5%.

      There are different types of diabetes. It depends on the cause of diabetes.

They mainly type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.

              Type 1 diabetes.

      Type 1 diabetes (T1D), is also known as juvenile diabetes. Type 1 diabetes

 usually begins suddenly in childhood or adolescence. This autoimmune disease

occurs when the immune system destroys beta cells, a type of insulin-producing

cell. Insulin helps regulate normal glucose levels in the bloodstream and is a

hormone that cells need to use blood sugar for energy. Studies have shown that

in 70-90% of cases, β-cells are destroyed by one's immune system for reasons

that are not entirely clear.

 

     The cause of type 1 diabetes is still unknown, but researchers say it involves

a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The risk of type 1 diabetes

slightly higher for mothers who are obese or over the age of 35, or for children

born by cesarean section. And certain dietary habits are also directly linked to

the risk of type 1 diabetes, with cow's milk consumption and dietary sugar

consumption being prominent among them. And some viral infections early in

life have been found to contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes.

Among them, attention is focused on enteroviruses. Family members of

people with type 1 diabetes has a higher risk of developing the disease due

to genetic causes of type 1 diabetes. Some drugs reduce insulin production

and damage β-cells, resulting in a disease similar to type 1diabetes. Among

those drugs, the antiviral drug didanosine causes inflammation of the pancreas

and damages β-cells, and the anti-protozoal drug pentamidine. It also destroys

β-cells and causes diabetes. Moreover, drugs such as statin cyclosporin A

and tacrolimus, the leukemia drug L-asparaginase and the antibiotic

gatifloxacin can reversibly reduce insulin secretion and cause diabetes.

    

  Symptoms such as frequent urination, increased thirst, increased hunger, and

weight loss develops over a short period in this type 1 diabetes. Symptoms in

children include increased appetite, blurred vision, bedwetting, recurrent skin

infections, and candidiasis. As a side effect of this type 1 diabetes, prolonged

lack of insulin can lead to ketoacidosis, where persistent fatigue, dry or

flushed skin, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, confusion, and difficulty

breathing occur. The danger here is that untreated ketoacidosis can quickly

lead to loss of consciousness, coma, and even death.

      

       Diabetes is usually diagnosed by testing blood sugar levels after fasting for

 at least eight hours. A hemoglobin A1C test is also done to check the blood

sugar level within three months. A normal blood glucose level for adults,

without diabetes, who haven't eaten for at least eight hours is less than 100

mg/dL. A normal blood glucose level for adults, without diabetes, two hours

after eating, is 90 to 110 mg/dL.

        There is no effective treatment to prevent type 1 diabetes.  The main

treatment for type 1 diabetes is regular insulin injections to control

hyperglycemia. Pluripotent stem cells can be used to generate beta cells, but

it is still in the experimental stage. Regardless of the type of diabetes, diet

and exercise management are important. If not done, diabetes will cause

many complications. The most serious complication of this type 1 diabetes is

poor blood sugar control, severe hypoglycemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis.

We will discuss it at length in future articles.

    See you in the future with a very important article about type 2 diabetes.