Diabetes

Question 1

What is diabetes

Answer 1

A Condition when blood glucose concentration can not be controlled properly

Question 2

What is type 1 diabetes

Answer 2

An autoimmune disease, where the body attacks and destroys the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans.

• NO insulin produced
• After eating blood glucose concentration stays high
• Kidneys cant reabsorb all glucose, so some glucose is excreted through the body as urine
• increased risk of if someone in the family has it

Question 3

How to treat type 1 diabetes?

Answer 3

• regular insulin injections through the day
• Insulin pump- machine that continuously delivers insulin to the body through the tube
• Islet cell transplantation- Receive healthy islet cells from a donor, this makes it so their pancreas can produce more insulin

Question 4

What is type 2 diabetes? (obesity)

Answer 4

When the beta cells don’t produce enough insulin, or when body cells don’t respond to insulin.

Question 5

Why don’t cells respond properly for type 2 diabetes?

Answer 5

This is because insulin receptors on the membrane don’t work properly, so they don’t take up enough glucose

Question 6

How do you prevent type 2 diabetes from getting worse?

Answer 6

• Eating a healthy, balanced diet
• regular excercise
• If this doesn’t work well enough medicine is prescribed.
• And then sometimes medication doesn’t work well enough, so insulin therapy is also used.

Question 7

what are the 3 types of medication to treat type 2 diabetes?

Answer 7

1) Metformin- (Usually the 1st med given) Act on liver to reduce amount of glucose released into the blood, they also make cells more sensitive to insulin so more glucose can be taken up
2) Sulfonylureas-Stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin.
3) Thiazolidinediones- Make body cells more sensitive to insulin.

Question 8

How is insulin produced these days?

Answer 8

Produced using genetically modified bacteria.

Question 9

Why is Insulin produced using GM better?

Answer 9

1) cheaper
2) Larger quantities of insulin can be produced

3) GM bacteria is used to produce human insulin, and is less likely to trigger an allergic response
4) Some people prefer insulin produced by genetically modified bacteria for ethical or religious reasons
(eg) : some ppl refuse to take insulin from a pig due to religious reasons

Question 10

What could be used to cure diabetes?

Answer 10

Stem cells

Question 11

HOW can stem cells cure type 1 diabetes

Answer 11

1) Stem cells could be grown into Beta cells
2) Beta cells would be implanted into the pancreas
3) This means the person will be able to make insulin as normal.