Diabetes

Low-carb diet recommended for diabetics

A new study involving researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and other institutions says patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes should eat a diet low in carbohydrates.

Diabetes

Stem cells show promise for reversing type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the University of British Columbia and BetaLogics, part of Janssen Research & Development, LLC have shown for the first time that Type 2 diabetes can be effectively treated with a combination of specially-cultured ...

Diabetes

Promising progress for new treatment of type 1 diabetes

New research from Uppsala University shows promising progress in the use of anti-inflammatory cytokine for treatment of type 1 diabetes. The study, published in the open access journal Scientific Reports, reveals that administration ...

Neuroscience

Stem cells may do best with a little help from their friends

Like volunteers handing out cups of energy drinks to marathon runners, specially engineered "helper cells" transplanted along with stem cells can dole out growth factors to increase the stem cells' endurance, at least briefly, ...

Diabetes

Could insulin pills prevent diabetes? Big study seeks answer

For nearly a century, insulin has been a life-saving diabetes treatment. Now scientists are testing a tantalizing question: What if pills containing the same medicine patients inject every day could also prevent the disease?

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Diabetes mellitus type 1 (Type 1 diabetes, T1DM, IDDM, or, formerly, juvenile diabetes) is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose. The classical symptoms are polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (increased thirst), polyphagia (increased hunger), and weight loss.

Incidence varies from 8-17/100,000 in Northern Europe and the U.S., with a high of about 35/100,000 in Scandinavia, to a low of 1/100,000 in Japan and China.

Eventually, type 1 diabetes is fatal unless treated with insulin. Injection is the most common method of administering insulin; other methods are insulin pumps and inhaled insulin. Pancreatic transplants have been used. Pancreatic islet cell transplantation is experimental, though growing.

Most people who develop type 1 are otherwise healthy. Although the cause of type 1 diabetes is still not fully understood, it is believed to be of immunological origin.

Type 1 can be distinguished from type 2 diabetes via a C-peptide assay, which measures endogenous insulin production.

Type 1 treatment must be continued indefinitely in all cases. Treatment is not intended to significantly impair normal activities, and can be done adequately if sufficient patient training, awareness, appropriate care, discipline in testing and dosing of insulin is taken. However, treatment remains quite burdensome for many people. Complications may be associated with both low blood sugar and high blood sugar, both largely due to the non-physiological manner in which insulin is replaced. Low blood sugar may lead to seizures or episodes of unconsciousness and requires emergency treatment. High blood sugar may lead to increased fatigue and can also result in long term damage to organs.

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