Diabetes treatment Flashcards
How is type 1 diabetes treated?
insulin injections
how do people with type 1 diabetes know when to inject insulin?
- test their blood glucose level, normally by pricking their finger
- machine analyses blood which tells the person their blood glucose concentration
- from this, the person can work out the dose of insulin they need to inject
What happens if the person is injected with too much insulin?
- they may experience hypoglycaemia ( low blood glucose conc.)
- can results in unconsciousness
- if too little is injected hyperglycaemia can occurs which can also lead to unconsciousness and death
What is the first line of control in type 2 diabetes?
- regulate the person’s carbohydrate intake through their diet and matching this to their exercise level
- often involves increases exercise
- overweigh people are encouraged to lose weight
What is the second line of treatment in type 2 diabetes?
- drugs are used
- include drugs that stimulate insulin production and drugs that slow down the rate at which the body absorbs glucose from the intestine, and ultimately even insulin injection
How was insulin orginally obtained? Why is this method no longer used?
- obtained from the pancreas of cows and pigs that had been slaughtered for food
- process was difficult and expensive
- cause allergic reactions as it slightly differed
- some people are ethically and religiously opposed to this
How is insulin currently made?
- structure of insulin was identified and is now made by genetically modified bacteria
What are the advantages of this new method?
- human insulin is produced in a pure form - less likely to cause allergic reactions
- insulin can be produced in much higher quantities
- production costs are lower
- people’s concerns over using animal products in humans are overcome
Why is a pancreas transplant not commonly done?
removes diabetes symptoms
but
- the demand for transplantable pancreases far outweighs their availability
- the risk of having a transplant can be greater health risk than diabetes itself
- immunospressents drugs are required to ensure the body accepts the transplanted pancreas, which can leave a person susceptible to infection
Why do cell transplants not work?
- injecting beta cells
- fewer than 8% were successful
- the immunosupressent drugs used to prevent rejection of these cells incereases the metabolic demand on the cells
- this exhausts their capacity to produce insulin
How can stem cells be used to cure diabetes?
scientist have been researchging the best type of stem cells and the signlas required to promote their differentioation into beta cells - either in the pateint or the lab
may have to be used from embryos
- causes destruction of it
- spare embryos from infertility treatments or terminated pregnancies could be used
- or preserved umbilical stem cells
How are stem cells more advantageous over current therapies?
- donor availability would not be an issue - stem cells could produce an unlimited source of beta cells
- reduced likelihood of rejecting problems as embryonic stem cells are generalyl not rejected by thee body (new evcidence contradicts this) - stem cells can also be made by somatic celll nuclear transfer
- people no longer have to inject themselves with insulin
