Treating diabetes Flashcards
GRE
pancreas
[ˋpæŋkrɪəs]
Your pancreas is an organ in your body that is situated behind your stomach. It produces insulin and substances that help your body digest food.
insulin
Insulin is a substance that most people produce naturally in their body and which controls the level of sugar in their blood.
In diabetes the body produces insufficient insulin.
a protein hormone, secreted in the pancreas by the islets of Langerhans, that controls the concentration of glucose in the blood. Insulin deficiency results in diabetes mellitus
mellitus
məˈlaɪtəs
a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism characterized by excessive thirst and excretion of abnormally large quantities of urine containing an excess of sugar, caused by a deficiency of insulin
radioimmunoassay
a technique that permitted measurement of insulin levels in blood.
Type 1 and 2 diabetes
that type 1 diabetes is characterized by insulin deficiency while type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance.
Translational research
In science, of or relating to the application of basic or theoretical discoveries to the development of practical applications: translational research.
epidemic
outbreak, plague, growth, spread
If there is an epidemic of a particular disease somewhere, it affects a very large number of people there and spreads quickly to other areas.
A flu epidemic is sweeping through Moscow.
2. If an activity that you disapprove of is increasing or spreading rapidly, you can refer to this as an epidemic of that activity.
[disapproval]
…an epidemic of serial killings. [+ of]
Drug experts say it could spell the end of the crack epidemic.
Mount Sinai’s Medical Center
Diabetes is now considered a global epidemic. “420 million people around the world have diabetes—30 million of them in the United States,” says Andrew Stewart, professor and director of Mount Sinai’s Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Institute.
onerous ˈɒnərəs
trying, hard, taxing, demanding
burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome: onerous duties.
If you describe a task as onerous, you dislike having to do it because you find it difficult or unpleasant.
[formal]
…parents who have had the onerous task of bringing up a very difficult child.
glucose ˈɡluːkəʊz
Glucose is a type of sugar that gives you energy.
algorithm ælgərɪðəm
A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, especially a mathematical rule or procedure used to compute a desired result.
mitigate
ease, moderate, soften, check, quiet, calm, weaken, dull, diminish, temper, blunt, soothe, subdue, lessen, appease, lighten, remit, allay, placate, abate, tone down, assuage, pacify, mollify, take the edge off, extenuate, tranquillize, palliate,
To mitigate something means to make it less unpleasant, serious, or painful.
[formal]
…ways of mitigating the effects of an explosion. [VERB noun]
The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney’s offer of a subsidy. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: ease, moderate, soften, check
spike
If there is a spike in the price, volume, or amount of something, the price, volume, or amount of it suddenly increases.
During the war, there was a small spike in interest.
leery
- If you are leery of something, you are cautious and suspicious about it and try to avoid it.
[informal]
Executives say they are leery of the proposed system. [+ of]
They were leery about investing in a company controlled by a single individual. [+ about] - If someone looks or smiles at you in a leery way, they look or smile at you in an unpleasant way, usually because they are sexually interested in you.
[disapproval]
…a leery grin.
leery/sophisticated
“I was initially leery of the concept, but at Mount Sinai, patients have experienced tremendous results,” Levy says. “Patients are so enthusiastic about these devices, which continue to become more sophisticated, that most don’t want to give them back at the end of studies.”
