I. Introduction: Type two diabetes (dīəˈbētēz, -tis) is a disease that affects the way glucose, the body’s main source of fuel, is metabolized. With diabetes, the body will either resist insulin or will not create sufficient insulin to maintain a normal glucose level. About 25.8 million children and adults in the United States (8.3% of the population), 25.6 million (11.3% of people ages 20 and older) and 10.9 million (26.9% of people ages 65 and older) have diabetes. In 1889, Oskar Minkowski and Joseph von Mering discovered the role of the pancreas in diabetes. They created an experiment in which they found that dogs whose pancreas was removed acquired the symptoms of diabetes and died shortly after. In 1910, Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer discovered that diabetes was caused by a deficiency of insulin. In 1921, Sir Frederick Grant Banting and Charles Herbert Best repeated the work of von Mering and Minkowski and went ahead to demonstrate that they could reverse induced diabetes in dogs by giving them an extract from the pancreatic islets of Langerhans of healthy dogs.¹ Well-known people with diabetes include Tom Hanks, Paula Deen, Halle Berry and Larry King. My great uncle and two great aunts on my father’s mother’s side are affected with this disease.
II. Current Information:
A. Symptoms: With diabetes, sugar builds up in the bloodstream which causes fluid to be pulled out from the tissue, causing increased thirst and frequent urination. Other symptoms include increased hunger, since the muscles and organs are depleted of energy caused by lack of insulin that put sugar in cells, and weight loss as a result of the usage of alternative fuels stored in muscle and fat since the body is unable to metabolize glucose. Diabetes also caus...
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...diabetes, it is important to monitor blood sugar so that it remains within target range. One can also use medications for diabetes which stimulate the pancreas to create and release more insulin, or slow insulin production and release glucose from the liver causing less of a necessity of insulin to transport sugar into cells. In addition to daily blood sugar monitoring, doctors may recommend regular A1C testing to measure your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months.⁵ A1C testing shows how well one’s diabetes treatment is working. Treatment also may include insulin therapy. Insulin is injected with a fine needle and syringe, insulin pen, or an insulin pump. Still others block the action of stomach or intestinal enzymes that break down carbohydrates or make your tissues more sensitive to insulin.⁶ Bariatric surgery also improves blood sugar levels.
During the year 1889, two researchers, Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, had discovered the disease that is known today as diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the insulin levels (a hormone produced in unique cells called the islets of Langerhans found in the pancreas) in the bloodstream are irregular and therefore affect the way the body uses sugars, as well as other nutrients. Up until the 1920’s, it was known that being diagnosed with diabetes was a death sentence which usually affected “children and adults under 30.” Those who were diagnosed were usually very hungry and thirsty, which are two of the symptoms associated with diabetes. However, no matter how much they ate, their bodies wouldn’t be able to use the nutrients due to the lack of insulin. This would lead to a very slow and painful death. In 1922, four Canadian researchers by the names of Frederick G. Banting, Charles H. Best, John J.R. MacLeod, and James B. Collip had discovered a way to separate insulin in the pancreas of dogs and prepare it in such a way so that it can be used to treat diabetic patients. In the year 2008, there were 1,656,470 people who suffered from diabetes in Canada, and by 2010, it is predicted that this disease will take over the lives of 285 million people . Although there is no cure for diabetes, the treatment of prepared insulin is prolonging the lives of diabetics and allowing them to live freely. The discovery of insulin was important and significant in Canada’s history because Banting was a Canadian medical scientist who had a purpose in finding a treatment for diabetes, its discovery has saved lives and improved the quality of life of those suffering from this disease, and it showed the world Canada’s medical technology was ...
Diabetes mellitus also known simply as diabetes refers to a group of metabolic diseases which affect the body’s homeostatic mechanism used for maintaining and regulating the body’s blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a chronic condition which, in 2013 was estimated to be affecting 382 million people worldwide.[1] People suffering from diabetes are required to constantly be vigilant of their blood sugar levels to ensure it does not go below or above optimum levels. Depending on the type of diabetes and glucose level range, they may need to inject themselves with insulin or eat high sugar foods to restabilise their body. Failure to do so can lead to other long term health effects.[2]
One of the greatest medical milestones in history discovered in the 1920s was insulin. Diabetes is commonly known as a relatively harmless condition in today’s era, however before insulin was discovered, it was lethal. Insulin is a substance which the pancreas produces to break down food, this effects the blood glucose levels (Wikispaces.com). Diabetes is when the body is unable to produce the required amount by itself, thus building up the glucose in the blood (Wikispaces). A few symptoms caused by diabetes are damage to the nerves, blurred vision and muscle cramps (Wikispaces.com). In 1922, Frederick Banting and his research assistant Charles Best isolated insulin and successfully lowered a dog’s blood sugar (glucose) level (About.com). Once the insulin was prepared for human u...
By the 1920s, diabetes was considered a global epidemic, affecting people across the globe. Scientists unanimously agreed that diabetes was “the failure of the pancreas to secrete enough of a certain mysterious substance necessary for the proper utilization of carbohydrates as a body fuel.”2 This had stumped scientists for years, and no sufficient cure or treatment had been found. However, in 1921, Toronto doctor Frederick Banting, assisted by J. Macleod, Charles Best, and Dr. J.B Collip successfully created insulin, which was subsequently tested on dogs with diabetes before experimenting on the first human, Leonard Thompson in
Diabetes is a disease in which a person’s body in unable to make or utilize insulin properly which affects blood sugar levels. Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas, which helps to regulate glucose (sugar) levels, break down carbohydrates and fats, and is essential to produce the body’s energy. The CDC (2013) offers reliable insight, summarized here, into the different types of diabetes, some causes, and health complications that may arise from the disease.
Roughly 25 million Americans have diabetes; it is called the “Silent Killer” because almost half of those 25 million have no idea that they even have the disease; it can strike and kill without warning. I am interested in the disease because both my grandfather and my maternal great grandmother had diabetes. However, both of them had late onset diabetes, or Type II. Diabetes Mellitus is the cause of many serious health complications such as stroke, heart disease, renal failure, and blindness, among others. It can destroy the major organs in your body; untreated it can take your life.
Throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, between 2 and 3 of every 100 people have a known form of diabetes (DTC, 2004). What is diabetes? Explained simply, it is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. In the normal state of glucose function, there is a stable release and uptake of glucose, regulated by two hormones produced in the pancreas, glucagon and insulin. There are two distinct mechanisms which give rise to the abnormal blood glucose levels seen in patients with type I and type II diabetes. In type I diabetes, a deficiency in insulin production at the pancreas results in elevated blood glucose levels due to the lack of hormonal regulation. In type II diabetes, although the pancreas produces regular levels of insulin, the body resists the effect of insulin, inhibiting the ability of insulin to break down glucose in the blood. Because of the inherent differences in the biochemical mechanisms of these two diseases, the characteristics associated with type I and type II diabetes are very different. The typical onset of type I diabetes is usually ...
People with diabetes can’t absorb glucose into the cells of the body. So the sugar from all foods remain in the bloodstream. The overpowering amount of sugar in the bloodstream spreads to the urine creating a sweet taste, thats why it is known as “honey-sweet diabetes”. There is so much sugar in the urine the kidneys try to dilute it resulting in frequent urination. The body then craves more liquid to replace what has been lost...
Since Egyptians described diabetes in their manuscript and Indian physicians identified diabetes around 1500 BC, lots of discoveries are made regarding the pathogenesis and the treatment of diabetes: new technologies are invented and used in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, type-1 and type-2 diabetes are differentiated through time, lots of researches are done to find out a lasting solution to the devastating disease. Regardless of all the effort made diabetes type-1 remains incurable. It still continues to be one of the causes of death. The Genetics Home Reference web page noted the occurrence of type-1 diabetes in 10 to 20 per 100,000 people per year in the United States. By age 18, approximately 1 in 300 people in the United States develop type 1 diabetes. Worldwide, the number increases every year by 2 to 5 percent. (Genetics Home Reference, 2013)
As of the year 2011, 28.8 million people living in the United States were suffering from diabetes. This accounts for 8.3% of the US population (CDC, 2011). While this number may seem small, diabetes is a rapidly growing disease that needs a solution given that it is the seventh leading cause of death. According to the American Diabetes Association, (A.D.A.), diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas is unable to produce the amount of insulin needed to convert food, sugars, and starches to energy for the body. Therefore, the blood sugar levels rise, also known as hyperglycemia. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is commonly found in children or young adults and only makes up 5% of diabetes cases. A person with Type 1 diabetes does not produce insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of the disease. People who struggle...
In the 1920s, Dr. Frederick Banting discovered that insulin was able to help reduce the sugar level in the blood. There are many health issues around the world, Diabetes is one of them. “Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce any or enough insulin causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood” (Google). There are two principal kinds of diabetes there is type 1 and type 2. “Type 1 is called juvenile diabetes which is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin”("Type 1 Diabetes - Google Search."). “Type 2 Diabetes is much more common that Diabetes type 1.However, type two is called onset adult diabetes which is a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar”("Type
The pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus in is related to the insulin hormone. Insulin is secreted by cells in the pancreas and is responsible for regulating the level of glucose in the bloodstream. It also aids the body in breaking down the glucose to be used as energy. When someone suffers from diabetes, however, the body does not break down the glucose in the blood as a result of abnormal insulin metabolism. When there are elevated levels of glucose in the blood, it is known as hyperglycemia. If the levels continue to remain high over an extended period of time, damage can be done to the kidneys, cardiovascular systems; you can get eye disorders, or even cause nerve damage. When the glucose levels are low in one’s body, it is called hypoglycemia. A person begins to feel very jittery, and possibly dizzy. If that occurs over a period of time, the person can possibly faint. Diabetes mellitus occurs in three different forms - type 1, type 2, and gestational.
A long time ago, before our time, there was a sickness called diabetes. Not contagious, but yet hereditary and in some cases caused by excessive sugar consumption. Then, before 1922, this sickness was incurable but now it has been tamed. Yes I said “tamed”, and it has been tamed by a little 3 syllable word called insulin. It has come along way from what it was when it was first used and it changed life as we know it. Its impact on life will last forever and a lifetime. I know for a fact that if I ever cross the sickness that requires insulin, I would be the most grateful for the people who made it.
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body’s tissues absorb glucose which is sugar, so it can be used as a source of energy. Glucose levels build up in the blood and urine which causes excessive urination, thirst, hunger, and problems with fat and protein metabolism in a diabetic person. Diabetes is very common in the United States; it is the seventh leading cause of all deaths. Women have been diagnosed with diabetes more than men. There are two forms of diabetes, Type one and Type two diabetes. Type one diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin or produces it in very small quantities. This usually occurs in younger people under twenty years of age, mostly around puberty. Type two diabetes is when the body’s balance between insulin production and the ability of cells to use insulin doesn’t work properly. This is more common than type one; about 90-95% people in the United States have it. There are no cures for diabetes now but there are many researchers investigating factors through new technologies to cure them. Meanwhile, technological advancements are being made to keep glucose at a good level for diabetes.
The first step to knowing if you have diabetes is to identify its symptoms. Patients frequently overlook symptoms of: “Urinating often,” “Feeling very thirsty,” “Feeling very hungry even though you are eating,” “Extreme fatigue,” “Blurry vision,” “Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal” (“Symptoms”). These “symptoms of diabetes are typical. However, some people with type 2 diabetes have symptoms so...