Q. What is Type 1 diabetes?
A. Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas no longer produces insulin. (Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood glucose levels, mainly by assisting glucose into cells where it can then be converted into energy). Without insulin, glucose (sugar) builds up in the bloodstream, as cells slowly starve from the missing glucose supply. As cells starve, the liver attempts to correct the disorder by converting protein stores from muscles and vital organs into more glucose (a process called gluconeogenesis), thus raising the blood glucose levels even higher. In response to the toxic levels of glucose in the blood, the kidneys simultaneously attempt to filter out the glucose from the blood. This leads to dehydration, constant thirst, and frequent urination. Type 1 diabetes can be fatal and/or cause complications if left untreated. This type of diabetes usually begins in childhood. It is also called juvenile-onset diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and autoimmune diabetes. Type 1 diabetics must have daily insulin injections to live.
Q. What causes diabetes Type 1?
A. No one knows exactly what causes Type 1 diabetes yet, but research does indicate that it is an autoimmune disorder. For unknown reasons, the body’s immune system misidentifies the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin as foreign and destroys them.
Q. What are the symptoms of diabetes Type 1?
A. The symptoms of diabetes type 1 include: constant thirst and hunger, frequent urination, unexpected weight loss, reduction of vision, sensitivity of extremities such as the feet, and bedwetting by children who did not previously do so.
Q. Can diabetes 1 be cured?
A. Currently diabetes Type 1 cannot be cured, but complications can be reduced by following the treatment plans presented to you by your doctors.
A. Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas no longer produces insulin. (Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood glucose levels, mainly by assisting glucose into cells where it can then be converted into energy). Without insulin, glucose (sugar) builds up in the bloodstream, as cells slowly starve from the missing glucose supply. As cells starve, the liver attempts to correct the disorder by converting protein stores from muscles and vital organs into more glucose (a process called gluconeogenesis), thus raising the blood glucose levels even higher. In response to the toxic levels of glucose in the blood, the kidneys simultaneously attempt to filter out the glucose from the blood. This leads to dehydration, constant thirst, and frequent urination. Type 1 diabetes can be fatal and/or cause complications if left untreated. This type of diabetes usually begins in childhood. It is also called juvenile-onset diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and autoimmune diabetes. Type 1 diabetics must have daily insulin injections to live.
Q. What causes diabetes Type 1?
A. No one knows exactly what causes Type 1 diabetes yet, but research does indicate that it is an autoimmune disorder. For unknown reasons, the body’s immune system misidentifies the pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin as foreign and destroys them.
Q. What are the symptoms of diabetes Type 1?
A. The symptoms of diabetes type 1 include: constant thirst and hunger, frequent urination, unexpected weight loss, reduction of vision, sensitivity of extremities such as the feet, and bedwetting by children who did not previously do so.
Q. Can diabetes 1 be cured?
A. Currently diabetes Type 1 cannot be cured, but complications can be reduced by following the treatment plans presented to you by your doctors.
