An Informative essay on Diabetes Essay MellitusDiabetes is the seventh leading cause of death listed in the United States. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness. “In 1996 diabetes contributed to more than 162,000 deaths”(Lewis 1367). “Diabetes mellitus is not a single disease but a group of disorders with glucose intolerance in common” (McCance 674). Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (increased blood sugar) and results from defective insulin production, secretion, and utilization. There are many forms of diabetes.
“Diabetes increases the risk of heart and blood vessel disease, amputation, infections, kidney damage, eye problems (including blindness), and nerve malfunction” (Husain). I will briefly define the different forms of diabetes and then I will discuss diabetes mellitus in general. 1. Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or type 1 is when the pancreas will produce little or no insulin, therefore requiring injections of insulin to control diabetes and prevent ketoacidosis. All patients with this type of diabetes need insulin to survive (Deakins 34). Five to ten percent of all diabetic patients have IDDM.
Usual presentation is rapid with classical symptoms of polydipsia (increased thirst), polyphagia (increased hunger), polyuria (increased urination), and weight loss. IDDM is most commonly seen in patients under thirty, but can be seen in older adults. 2. Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or type 2 is caused by a defect in insulin manufacture and release from the beta cell or insulin resistance in the peripheral tissues. Approximately ninety percent of diabetic patients have NIDDM.
Genetics play a big role in the etiology of NIDDM and is often associated with obesity. Usually presentation is slow and often insidious with symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, poor wound healing, and recurrent infection. Primarily occurs in adults over thirty. 3. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance, which occurs during pregnancy. Occurs in approximately three percent of pregnancies, and usually disappears after pregnancy.
Women with GDM are at higher risk for having diabetes in the future. GDM is associated with increased risk of morbidity. Women should be screened for GDM between the 24th and the 28th weeks of gestation. 4.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious condition, which occurs primarily in IDDM during times of severe insulin deficiency or illness producing severe hyperglycemia (increased sugars in the blood), ketonuria (acetone bodies in urine), dehydration, and acidosis (PH balance of less than 7. 35). According to McCance the diagnosis of diabetes is based on (1) more than one fasting plasma glucose level greater than 140mg/dl, (2) elevated plasma glucose levels in response to an oral glucose test, and random plasma glucose levels above 200mg/dl combined with classic symptoms of polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria (674). The pancreas is located partially behind the stomach in the abdomen.
The pancreas is a mixed gland composed of endocrine and exocrine gland cells. These cells are called acinar cells. Acinar cells, forming the bulk of the gland, produce an enzyme-rich juice that is ducted into the small intestine during food digestion. Scattered among the acinar cells are approximately a million pancreatic islets (islets of Langerhans), minute cell clusters that produce pancreatic hormones. The islets contain two major populations of hormone-producing cells, the glucagen-synthesizing alpha cells and the more numerous insulin-producing beta cells.
Insulin and glucagons are intimately but independently involved in the regulation of the blood glucose levels. Their effects are opposite: Insulin is a hypoglycemic hormone (lowers blood sugar), whereas glucagon is a hyperglycemic hormone (increases blood glucose. ) Islet cells also synthesize other peptides in small amounts. These include somatostatin (secreted by the delta cells), which inhibits the release of insulin and glucagons; pancreatic polypeptide secreted by the F cells, which plays a role in regulating the exocrine function of the pancreas; and amylin, a hormone cosecreted with insulin by the beta cells that appears to antagonize some of the insulin’s effects. That should explain the basic anatomy and physiology of the pancreas. Diabetes can affect the entire body.
Two-thirds of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure, or hypertension. This condition is serious because it leads to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney and eye problems. The disease may cause similar changes in the blood vessels of the kidneys. This condition, called diabetic nephropathy, may lead to kidney failure. The nerves .
