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level: 16.4 Diabetes and its control

Questions and Answers List

level questions: 16.4 Diabetes and its control

QuestionAnswer
What is diabetes?- Disease in which a person is unable to metabolise carbohydrate, especially glucose, properly - One form of diabetes is diabetes mellitus or 'sugar diabetes'
Types of diabetes- Type I (insulin dependent) - Type II (insulin independent)
Type I (insulin dependent)- Due to body unable to produce insulin - Normally begins in childhood - May be result of autoimmune response where immune system attacks own cells, in this case b cells of islets of Langerhans - Develops quickly, usually over few weeks, sign normally obvs
Type II (insulin independent)- Normally due to glycoprotein receptors on body cells begin lost or losing their responsiveness to insulin - Also due to inadequate supply of insulin from pancreas - Usually develops in people over 40 - But there's an increasing no. of cases of obesity + poor diet in teens - Develops slowly, symptoms normally less severe, may go unnoticed - Overweight people more likely to get type II, 90% w/diabetes are type II
Control of diabetes- Although cannot be cured, recent trails in transplanting insulin-producing cells have shown promise - Diabetes can also be successfully treated
Control of type I diabetes- Injecting insulin, 2 or 4 times a day - Cannot be taken by mouth, as its protein, would be digested in alimentary canal - Dose matched to glucose intake - If take too much insulin, they will experience low blood glucose conc. that can result in unconsciousness - To ensure correct dose, blood glucose conc. is monitored using biosensors - By doing injecting insulin, managing carb intake + exercising, they can lead normal lives
Control of type II diabetes- Usually controlled by regulating carb intake + matching this to amount of exercise taken - In some cases, this may be supplemented by insulin injections or use of drugs that stimulate insulin production- Other drugs can slow down rate at which body absorbs glucose from intestine