Type 2 diabetes Flashcards
What is type 2 diabetes?
A chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar (glucose). With type 2 diabetes, the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin, or it resists insulin.
What causes it?
- family history of type 2 diabetes.
- being overweight or obese, especially with excess weight around the waist.
- a low level of physical activity.
- poor diet.
- being over 55 years of age.
- for women - having had gestational diabetes.
- for women - having polycystic ovarian syndrome.
What happens to the body?
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach, can’t produce enough insulin to control your blood glucose level, or when the cells in your body don’t respond properly to the insulin that is produced. This means your blood glucose levels may become very high, and is known as hyperglycaemia.
Who gets it
You can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, type 2 diabetes occursmost often in middle-aged and older people. You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are age 45 or older, have a family history of diabetes, or are overweight or have obesity.
Are there treatments available?
Metformin (Fortamet, Glumetza, others) is generally the first medicine prescribed for type 2 diabetes. It works mainly by lowering glucose production in the liver and improving the body’s sensitivity to insulin so it uses insulin more effectively. Some people experience B-12 deficiency and may need to take supplements.
What is Glucose?
Many of the foods we eat are broken down during digestion to this simple sugar. Glucose is carried to every cell in our body by the blood stream, where it is used as the source of energy of our bodies
What is Glycogen
The stored form of glucose is called glycogen. Glycogen is made up of many connected units of glucose.
What is Insulin?
The hormone is released into the blood when blood glucose levels are high. It enables glucose to be transported into the cell in some tissues.
What is Glucagon?
This hormonse is released into the blood stream when blood glucose levels are low. It enables glucose to be released from some tissues back into the blood stream.
What is homeostasis?
Allows organisms to maintain balance (stability) even as the external environment changes.
What is Insulin Resistance?
Insuline Resistance occurs because isulin receptors dont bind to insuline as well. This causes the pancreas to work hard all the time to release enough insuline to bring down blood glucose levels.
How do you get to type 2 diabetes?
Normal = Blood glucose lebels are well-regulated
Pre diabetes = Blood glucose levels are higher after a meal and resting state > not high enough to be classified as type 2. People with pre-diabetes are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes = blood glucose levels always high because of high insulin resistance & high/low insulin levels.
The body organs - Pancreas & Liver
Pancreas = major players in glucose homeostasis, releases hormones, insulin and glucagon which control blood glucose. Cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are Beta (B) cells.
Liver = Takes up glucose when levels are high, releasing glucose when levels are low. Stores glucose in chains as glycogen. Key for glucose regulation.
The body organs - Muscles & Fat cells & Brain
Muscles = Muscles are able to take up and store lots of glucose when insulin is present. More muscle mass = bigger reservoir for glucose.
Fat cells = Take up glucose when insulin is present. Fat cells use glucose to make more fat.
Brain = Takes up glucose whenever it needs energy. Glucose is the only fuel the brain can use.
