intro to diabetes Flashcards
what is diabetes?
a chronic multi-system disease related to abnormal or impaired insulin utilization
how is diabetes characterized?
by hyperglycemia resulting from lack of insulin, lack of insulin effect, or both
what is the cause of diabetes?
normally a combination of genetics, autoimmune, and lifestyle; absent or insufficient and/or poor utilization of insulin
what can diabetes occur from?
medical treatments like removing some or all of pancreas, corticosteroids (high dose can cause type 2), thiazides, certain antipsychotics, etc cause diabetes type 2
what are the two functions of the pancreas?
exocrine function and endocrine function
what is the exocrine function of the pancreas and what percentage of the total function is it?
it produces enzymes for digestion; 95%
what is the endocrine function of the pancreas and what percentage of the total function is it?
islet of langerhans (regulate blood sugar and pancreatic secretions), secrete insulin and glucagon; 5%
what does the liver do?
it stores and produces glucose
insulin does what?
lowers blood sugar
glucagon does what?
raises the blood sugar
what is insulin made by in the pancreas?
beta-cells
what is glucagon made by in the pancreas?
alpha-cells
where is glucose stored?
in the liver and muscle cells as glycogen
which tissues in the body are insulin dependent?
skeletal muscle and adipose tissue
insulin is required to “unlock” receptor sites in cells which allows what?
transport of glucose into cells to be used for energy
what are the three counterregulatory hormones?
epinephrine, growth hormone, cortisol, and glucagon
what do counterregulatory hormones do?
help to stimulate a high glucose level if the body is in destress (decrease glucose movement into the cell)
epinephrine does what?
comes from the liver, and promotes sugar production
how/when is insulin normally released?
released in small increments when food is ingested, it’s a storage hormone
how much insulin is normally produced in a day?
40-50 units per day, 0.6 kg/day
what tissues need glucose to function properly?
brain, liver, etc
what is insulin resistance?
pathological condition in which cells either fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin or downregulate receptors in response to hyperinsulinenemia
what glucose level is considered hypoglycemia?
< 70 mg/dl
what is insulin insufficiency?
the body makes some insulin but more insulin is needed to effectively lower the blood sugar