Diabetes, also referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the affected person has high blood glucose (blood sugar). This happens either because insulin production is inadequate (insulin is produced by cells in the pancreas), or because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).
I recently had the great opportunity of working together with doctors from the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology of a very good hospital in the north of Italy. They deal with patients affected by diabetes everyday, patients of all ages, from young adults to elder people. It has been a great experience so far, that has already thought me a lot about the disease, which is greatly interesting me now.
Everybody was really helpful, thought me many facts and answered my questions. In particular, the Head of the Department said that they experience 100 diabetic people over a population of 200.000 in the city of Savigliano, of which 0.1% are children, 8% middle-aged adults and 20% elders. This leads us to understand the existance of two main types:
- Diabetes Type 1: it is a genetic considtion (so, the 0.1% of diabetic children has this type of diabetes) where the body does not produce insulin. People usually develop type 1 diabetes before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or teenage years.Type 1 diabetes is nowhere near as common as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1. These patients with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin injections for the rest of their life. They must also ensure proper blood-glucose levels by carrying out regular blood tests and following a special diet.
- Diabetes Type 2: when the body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin (insulin resistance).Approximately 90% of all cases of diabetes worldwide are type 2. Some people may be able to control their type 2 diabetes symptoms by losing weight, following a healthy diet, doing plenty of exercise, and monitoring their blood glucose levels. However, type 2 diabetes is typically a progressive disease – it gradually gets worse – and the patient will probably end up have to take insulin, usually in tablet form.
But what do they calculate when they monitor diabetes? First, they look at a marticula exam, called glycated hemoglobin. In fact, hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood to all tissues, has a kind of spongy structure and catches that exciding sugar in blood vessels. It is used to measure the three month average plasma glucose concentration. They also ask patients to measure the level of sugar everyday and at different times, simply using a small, protable machine.
Also, diabetes causes many other deseases: it affects the eyes, heart, brain and nervous system, peripheral blood vessels, the feet, the kidneys. You should really be careful, people can also die of diabetes, if the level of sugar in the blood is too high or too low.
Hope you enjoyed the post and I’ll keep you update when I find out more about diabetes!!
See you in the next post xx
internationalife 