What is diabetes? Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not...
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.
Type 1 vs. Type 2: Type 1 is a type of diabetes in which the body is unable to produce insulin that often strikes children and young adults. Far more common is Type 2, a combination of insulin resistance and insulin deficiency that typically strikes older people but it starting to strike children and adolescents.
Causes: Genetics is a factor in both types. Obesity and lack of exercise often play a major role in Type 2, which is becoming epidemic.
The cures
Transplants: Several hundred Type 1 diabetics have been cured by receiving implants of insulin-producing islet cells. But there is a severe shortage of islets — multiple donors are required for each recipient — and recipients must take potentially harmful anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.
Other cures: Researchers are working on eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs, increasing the supply of islet cells through stem cell research or using animal cells and regenerating the patient's own islet cells.
Artificial pancreas: Medical device companies are trying to close the loop between insulin pumps and new continuous glucose monitors so that a tiny computer can read blood-sugar levels from the monitor and tell the pump how much insulin to deliver.
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