Sugar, diabetes, adult-onset diabetes, type I, type II, gestational diabetes. Literal translation: “honey-sweet flow”.
Definition: Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, popularly known as diabetes (diabetes), is a chronic metabolic disease that is caused by an absolute or relative lack of insulin. The hallmark of this disease is a permanent elevation of the blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) and urine sugar. The cause is the insufficient effect of the hormone insulin on the liver cells, muscle cells and fat cells of the human body.
Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important diseases in internal medicine. Diabetes mellitus is divided into diabetes type 1 and diabetes type 2. In diabetes mellitus type 1, the beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed and thus no longer function, i.e. they no longer produce insulin.
The cell death, usually the number of cells is reduced to less than 10% of the actual cell population, is caused by an autoimmune disease and leads to an absolute insulin deficiency. Diabetes mellitus type 1 can occur at any age, but especially in children and adolescents, and accounts for 5-7% of the total number of diabetics. In 90% of the patients, certain genetic characteristics occur which give reason to believe that there is a hereditary predisposition for the disease of diabetes.
In 75% of the cases, three different islet cell autoantibodies (IAA, GADA, IA-A) can be detected in the blood of the patients. These antibodies, which are produced by the body itself, but are directed against the body’s own structures (autoimmune disease), suggest a sugar disease/diabetes. If at the age of two years two or all three islet cell antibodies are already present, the child must be expected to develop the disease before the age of 10.
In the broadest sense, this is also a disease from the rheumatic group of forms such as rheumatoid arthritis. The age at which diabetes mellitus type 1 predominantly occurs ranges from 15 to 24 years of age. The patients are usually of normal weight and do not have a stable metabolic state.
The onset of the disease, due to the absolute lack of insulin, occurs rapidly, when more than 80% of the islet cells have been destroyed. Stress situations often lead to the first manifestation of the disease. If one parent of a child has diabetes mellitus type 1, there is a 2.5 – 5% risk that the child will also have diabetes.
If, on the other hand, both parents are affected by the disease, the risk of the children also having the disease is 20%. A therapy of diabetes with insulin is absolutely necessary in type 1 diabetes, because the body’s own production fails and the hormone has to be replaced, i.e. supplied from outside. More about diabetes mellitus type 1Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2, also known as adult-onset diabetes, have a relative lack of insulin.
There are two reasons for a disruption of the sugar metabolism: the insulin release (secretion) of the pancreas is disturbed or the effect of the insulin on the organs is reduced. This is called insulin resistance, which is based on receptor defects (receptor = superficial receptor characteristic of the cell through which information, e.g. through a hormone, reaches the cell’s interior), or a disturbed signal transmission in the cell. The majority of type 2 diabetes mellitus develops due to the metabolic syndrome (also called affluence disease): Many diabetes patients often have the following 4 risk factors: Malnutrition with overweight and lack of exercise are decisive factors in the development of diabetes mellitus type 2.
Over-nutrition causes high insulin levels in the blood, since insulin is necessary to transport the absorbed glucose into the cells, where sugar utilization and energy production take place. After such years of stress for the insulin-producing cells, insulin production can be exhausted and finally, due to an absolute insulin deficiency, insulin-dependent diabetes can occur, i.e. insulin must be supplied from outside. Oral antidiabetics alone are no longer sufficiently effective in this phase of the disease.
The vicious circle of increased insulin requirements can be broken by physical activity and a change in diet, because under these conditions the insulin level drops and thus the insulin sensitivity of the cells increases again. Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 are often overweight and are predominantly older than 40 years.The onset of the disease, which occurs slowly and rather insidiously, is often only noticed after some time, usually when elevated blood and urine sugar levels are detected during a routine check-up or late effects of diabetes (diabetes) occur and lead to a diagnosis (e.g. polyneuropathy, diabetic nephropathy-retinopathy, etc.). There are also causative genetic components in this form of diabetes.
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus is up to 50% for children who have one affected parent. Therapy with insulin is not absolutely necessary, but it must be started when insulin reserves are exhausted and a change in diet alone and treatment with oral antidiabetics no longer have any effect. More about diabetes mellitus type 2 After such years of stress for the insulin-producing cells, insulin production can be exhausted and finally, due to an absolute insulin deficiency, insulin-dependent diabetes can occur, i.e. insulin must be supplied from outside.
Oral antidiabetics alone are no longer sufficiently effective in this phase of the disease. The vicious circle of increased insulin requirements can be broken by physical activity and a change in diet, because under these conditions the insulin level drops and thus the insulin sensitivity of the cells increases again. Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 are often overweight and are predominantly older than 40 years.
The onset of the disease, which occurs slowly and rather insidiously, is often only noticed after some time, usually when elevated blood and urine sugar levels are detected during a routine check-up or late effects of diabetes (diabetes) occur and lead to a diagnosis (e.g. polyneuropathy, diabetic nephropathy-retinopathy, etc.). There are also causative genetic components in this form of diabetes. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus is up to 50% for children who have one affected parent. Therapy with insulin is not absolutely necessary, but it must be started when insulin reserves are exhausted and a change in diet alone and treatment with oral antidiabetics no longer have any effect. More about diabetes mellitus type 2
- Overweight with a predominant proportion of body fat on the abdomen
- Elevated blood fat and cholesterol levels (hyperlipidemia-hypercholesterolemia)
- High blood pressure (arterial hypertension)
- Glucose tolerance disorder (diabetes)
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