Diabetes Mellitus:
Diabetes Mellitus is the fastest growing endocrine disease in the world and is a condition where the body is unable to use its glucose in the normal way; this is either due to the lack of an hormone called Insulin, or because of the fact that the insulin that is available in the body is not able to work in the normal way; with Diabetes there is excess glucose in both the blood and the urine and when an untreated diabetic urinates the urine is sweet, hence the name Diabetes Mellitus, where Diabetes is Greek for 'Siphon, to pass through' and Mellitus is Latin for 'Honeyed or Sweet'; during the 17th century, the condition was known as the 'Pissing Evil'.
Millions of people around the world suffer from this endocrine deasease, in fact there are currently more than 2 million people in the UK alone who suffer from the condition, with the liklihood of up to another million who are believed to have it without realising that they do; there are four main types of Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Type 2, MODY and Gestational; out of those that do have Diabetes around 3/4s of them have Type 2 Diabetes and this number is on the increase, mainly due to a large section of the the UK population becoming overweight and obese, which is in itself a growing problem.
Type 1 Diabetes is where the pancreas is unable to produce any insulin; this type usually starts in childhood, or young adulthood, and is treated mainly with diet control, exercise, medicines and insulin injections.
Type 2 Diabetes, which used to be known as non insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus, or Maturity Onset Diabetes Mellitus, is where the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin, or the insulin that is produced is unable to effectively get the glucose into the cells, on its own; this type usually affects people after the age of 40, but it is now increasingly being seen in younger, overweight, or obese people.
MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young) refers to several hereditary forms of Diabetes, caused by mutations in an Autosomal Dominant Gene, which inteferes with the production of insulin; the severity of the different formes vary, but in most cases it acts like a very mild version of Type 1 diabetes, with continued partial Insulin production and normal Insulin sensitivity.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is where women without previously diagnosed Diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester; it is caused when the pancreas of a pregnant woman cannot produce enough insulin during pregnancy, leading to increased blood sugar levels; it has few symptoms and it is most commonly diagnosed by screening during pregnancy; however, as with Diabetes Mellitus, babies born to mothers with Gestational Diabetes are typically at increased risk of problems such as being large for their gestational age, low blood sugar and jaundice; and to make matters worse those who develop Gestational Diabetes are at increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later on in life.
Normally the body either manufactures its own glucose, or it converts it from digested foods such as sweets, cakes, potatoes, pasta and bread and under normal circumstances, the pancreas produced hormone 'Insulin' regulates how much glucose is in the blood; Insulin is meant to stimulate the cells in order for them to absorb enough glucose from the blood to create the energy that they need; Insulin is also meant to stimulate the liver to absorb and store any excess glucose.
The normal cycle for those without Diabetes is for the amount of glucose in the blood to rise after a meal, which triggers the release of insulin and when the blood glucose levels fall, during exercise for example, the Insulin levels should fall too; another pancreas produced hormone is 'Glucagon', which is meant to stimulate the liver to release glucose as and when it is needed, which raises the level of glucose in the blood.
Those at risk of becoming, or developing , diabetes are people over 40, or over 25 and African-Caribbean, Asian or from a minority ethnic group; people with a close family member who has Type 2 Diabetes; people who are overweight; women with polycystic ovary syndrome who are overweight and women who've had diabetes in pregnancy, known as 'Gestational Diabetes.
NB. For more about Diabetes, the Types of, Treatments and how to Manage the disease visit the Health section of the Yorkshire website.
Millions of people around the world suffer from this endocrine deasease, in fact there are currently more than 2 million people in the UK alone who suffer from the condition, with the liklihood of up to another million who are believed to have it without realising that they do; there are four main types of Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Type 2, MODY and Gestational; out of those that do have Diabetes around 3/4s of them have Type 2 Diabetes and this number is on the increase, mainly due to a large section of the the UK population becoming overweight and obese, which is in itself a growing problem.
Type 1 Diabetes is where the pancreas is unable to produce any insulin; this type usually starts in childhood, or young adulthood, and is treated mainly with diet control, exercise, medicines and insulin injections.
Type 2 Diabetes, which used to be known as non insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus, or Maturity Onset Diabetes Mellitus, is where the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin, or the insulin that is produced is unable to effectively get the glucose into the cells, on its own; this type usually affects people after the age of 40, but it is now increasingly being seen in younger, overweight, or obese people.
MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young) refers to several hereditary forms of Diabetes, caused by mutations in an Autosomal Dominant Gene, which inteferes with the production of insulin; the severity of the different formes vary, but in most cases it acts like a very mild version of Type 1 diabetes, with continued partial Insulin production and normal Insulin sensitivity.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is where women without previously diagnosed Diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester; it is caused when the pancreas of a pregnant woman cannot produce enough insulin during pregnancy, leading to increased blood sugar levels; it has few symptoms and it is most commonly diagnosed by screening during pregnancy; however, as with Diabetes Mellitus, babies born to mothers with Gestational Diabetes are typically at increased risk of problems such as being large for their gestational age, low blood sugar and jaundice; and to make matters worse those who develop Gestational Diabetes are at increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later on in life.
Normally the body either manufactures its own glucose, or it converts it from digested foods such as sweets, cakes, potatoes, pasta and bread and under normal circumstances, the pancreas produced hormone 'Insulin' regulates how much glucose is in the blood; Insulin is meant to stimulate the cells in order for them to absorb enough glucose from the blood to create the energy that they need; Insulin is also meant to stimulate the liver to absorb and store any excess glucose.
The normal cycle for those without Diabetes is for the amount of glucose in the blood to rise after a meal, which triggers the release of insulin and when the blood glucose levels fall, during exercise for example, the Insulin levels should fall too; another pancreas produced hormone is 'Glucagon', which is meant to stimulate the liver to release glucose as and when it is needed, which raises the level of glucose in the blood.
Those at risk of becoming, or developing , diabetes are people over 40, or over 25 and African-Caribbean, Asian or from a minority ethnic group; people with a close family member who has Type 2 Diabetes; people who are overweight; women with polycystic ovary syndrome who are overweight and women who've had diabetes in pregnancy, known as 'Gestational Diabetes.
NB. For more about Diabetes, the Types of, Treatments and how to Manage the disease visit the Health section of the Yorkshire website.
