Diabetes

Type One Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar (glucose) into energy. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age; however, it typically appears during childhood or young adulthood.In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk from both parents.  Because most people who are at risk do not ever get diabetes, researchers want to find out what the environmental triggers are. One trigger could be cold weather.  Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter than summer and is more frequent in places with cold climates.  Another environmental trigger might be a virus.  Quite possibly a virus that has only mild effects on most people triggers type 1 diabetes in others.

Glucose is a main source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and other tissues. Glucose comes from two major sources: your liver, and the food that we eat. While your food is digesting, sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream and it enters your cells with the help of insulin.The hormone insulin comes from the pancreas, a gland located just behind the stomach. When you eat, your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream and as the insulin circulates, it allows sugar to enter your cells. Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.Your liver manufactures and stores glucose. When your insulin levels are low or when you haven't eaten in a while, your liver releases the stored glucose to keep your glucose level within a normal range.In type 1 diabetes, your immune system, which normally fights harmful bacteria or viruses, attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This leaves you with little or no insulin. Instead of being transported into your cells, sugar builds up in your bloodstream. 

Many factors may contribute to type 1 diabetes, including genetics and exposure to many different environmental viruses. Type 1 diabetes has no cure. But many discoveries in blood sugar monitoring and the way that insulin is delivered have simplified the daily routine of coping with type 1 diabetes. With proper treatment, people with type 1 diabetes can expect to live long, happy and healthy lives.