diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes mellites is a disease that causes the inability produce insulin
• It is believed that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease what does this mean?

  An autoimmune disease is where your immune cells destroys cells within your body.
• What cells will be destroyed if type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease?

  This will destroy beta islet of Langerhans cells
• Type 2 diabetes mellites is when insulin is still produced but can’t be used to control blood glucose levels.
• What are two things that might lead to the inability to use insulin to control blood sugar levels?

  This is due to either

  Beta cells not producing enough insulin

  Body cell not responding to insulin
• Type 2 diabetes mellites can often be treated with diet and exercise.

  If this is not possible then drugs are used to

  • Increase insulin release
  • Slow down glucose uptake in the intestines
• Type 1 – To treat type 1 the insulin that can’t be produced needs to be replaced

  • Regulating insulin levels by measuring and injecting themselves with the correct amount
  • Transplants can be used to replace the damaged pancreas.
  • Some attempts have been made to inject people with donor B cells but there is little success and immunosuppressants need to be used.
  • Stem cells injected and programmed to make beta cells