Medicina & Arte

terça-feira, janeiro 06, 2009

SAÚDE/DOENÇA

DIABETES

Diabetes type 1 ´

The autoimmune reaction of the body to the pancreatic beta cells in the islets of Langerhans and the resulting destruction of these beta cells, cause an immediate insuline deficiency, resulting in type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a degenerative disease, which is traditionally treated using insuline injections. These injections replace the missing hormone, but the complications can be far-reaching. Hyperglycemia is a common contributor to a number of complications like

Heart and vascular diseases
Eye and kidney complaints
Poor vascularisation
Damage to nerve cells (neuropathy)
Diabetic feet
High susceptibility for infections
Erectile penile dysfunction
Diabetes type 2
Type 2 diabetes used to be known as maturity onset, or non-insulin dependent diabetes. Although type 2 diabetes typically affects individuals over the age of 40, today it occurs at an increasingly younger age, especially in people who have a family history of diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is by far the most common form, affecting 85 - 90% of all people with diabetes. Experts estimate that nearly one-third of people who have type 2 diabetes don't even know it. If the condition is left uncontrolled, the consequences (like with diabetes type 1) can be life threatening.