Chapter 44: Diabetes Flashcards
How many people in the U.S are affected by diabetes?
About 30 million people, or about a little more than 1 in 10 people.
What is diabetes? Try to give a simple definition of it
It is a condition in which there is too much sugar from food in the blood and there is trouble lowering it down to normal, healthy levels.
What are the mechanisms in which diabetes is caused?
- The Pancreas is having trouble releasing insulin and without this insulin, cells are unable to absorb sugar from the blood and there is an excess of sugar in the blood.
- Cells become insensitive to insulin and don’t respond to it. These cells then do not absorb sugar from the blood. There is than an excess of sugar in the blood.
- A combination of both of these.
What are consequences of diabetes?
Organ and nerve damage
What does insulin do?
- Binds to insulin receptors on muscle cells to allow the muscle cells to absorb the sugar into them
- Signals the liver to store any excess glucose as glycogen for later use.
- Signals the fat cells to store the excess glucose as fat for later use as ketones (An alternative source of energy)
What does glucagon do?
It counter balances glucose. It is used when blood sugar gets too low.
1. Glucagon signals muscle cells to turn glycogen into glucose for use 2. Glucagon signals liver cells to turn glycogen into glucose for use 3. If there is no glucose at all to be used as energy, the glucagon signals adipose cells to release ketones so that ketones can be used as an alternative source of energy.
What is type 1 Diabetes?
This is a condition in which the body attacks and destroys the beta cells of the pancreas. Without any beta cells, the pancreas cannot create insulin. Without insulin, cells are unable to absorb sugar from the blood into themselves. Therefore, ketones then have to be used as an alternative source of energy. We get ketones in the blood and this makes the blood acidic. This is a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis. This is a medical emergency.
What is the biggest risk factor for type 1 Diabetes?
Family Genetics
How do we diagnose Type 1 Diabetes?
We conduct the C-Peptide test. C-Peptide is also another molecule that is released from the pancreas when insulin is being released. If C-peptide is not being released from the pancreas, insulin is not being released.
How do we treat Type 1 Diabetes?
The patient must be treated with insulin. The patient must also be assessed for other autoimmune disorders such as thyroid disorders or celiac disease.
What is Type 2 Diabetes?
This is a form of diabetes in which the cells are insensitive to insulin, causing the sugar to be unable to be absorbed from the blood into the cells. There is also the pancreas not producing enough insulin. This is the most common form of diabetes.
What is type 2 diabetes caused by?
It is caused by physical inactivity and obesity. It can honestly be prevented and treated by implementing proper diet and exercise. If that isn’t done, we will have to resort to having to use oral medications and injectables.
What is prediabetes?
This is a condition in which the patient is at a much higher risk of developing diabetes. They are very close to developing diabetes. Their blood sugar is high but not high enough to officially diagnose that patient with diabetes.
How do we prevent pre-diabetes?
The patient must implement a proper diet and exercise.
What is another little thing we can do to treat prediabetes?
If the patient has a BMI above 35 kg/m^2 and he/she is under 60 years of age, we can give them Metformin. This also applies for women with a history of gestational Diabetes Mellitus. We should also continuously monitor the patient and treat any other comorbid conditions they may have such as cardiovascular disease.
