Diabetes

Age Range 14-16
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  • Diabetes
  • Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
  • The discovery of insulin
  • Controlling blood glucose levels
  • Treating diabetes
  • Making human insulin
  • Gene therapy for diabetes
  • Quiz

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Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

There are two types of diabetes. In both, the body cannot regulate the level of glucose in the blood. This is because the body either stops producing the hormone insulin or does not respond properly to the insulin that is being made.

3D model of insulin

This model shows the structure of insulin. It is a complex protein hormone.

Image courtesy of: T. Blundell & N. Campillo / Wellcome Images

Type 1 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Usually develops before the age of 20, with a peak at 12 years old.
Usually appears after the age of 40.
Pancreas stops making insulin.
Pancreas makes reduced amounts of insulin, or the body does not respond normally to the insulin produced.
Treatments include insulin injections, diet control and regular exercise.
Treatments include diet control, medication and regular exercise.
About 10% of diabetes cases.
About 90% of cases.
Also called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)
Also called non-insulin dependent diabetes

Symptoms: develop quickly. Tiredness, excessive urine production, weight loss, increased thirst and blurred vision.
Symptoms: same as for type 1 but less severe and may go undetected for many years.

What causes diabetes?

Diabetes does not have just one cause. Many factors influence whether a person develops diabetes or not. These include lifestyle, diet and genetic make-up.

Type1 diabetes

Person injecting insulin

Injecting insulin allows diabetics to control their blood sugar levels.

Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease. The person's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. These cells are called the islets of Langerhans. The immune system destroys them as if they were an infection. Insulin production is quickly and dramatically stopped.

People with type 1 diabetes often have a particular form of a gene that is involved in the production of cell-recognition proteins. They trigger the immune system to destroy the insulin-producing cells.

It may soon be possible to develop a genetic test to identify people who are at a high risk of developing type 1 diabetes. It may even become possible to replace the faulty gene using gene therapy .

Type 2 diabetes

Obesity , and a lack of physical exercise, are linked to an increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. It is more likely to develop if people have a diet that contains lots of saturated fats, sugar and is low in fibre. Some insulin production continues but the liver and body cells do not respond to it normally.

Question 1


 
 
Type 1 Type 2
a)
What type of diabetes is this person more likely to develop?
Male aged 52 who is over weight and takes little exercise.
b)
What type of diabetes is this person more likely to develop?
Girl aged 9 who has a history of diabetes in her family.
c)
What type of diabetes is caused when the body's own immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas?
d)
Which is the most common form of diabetes in the UK?
e)
Which type of diabetes develops quickly when the production of insulin stops?
f)
Which cells are destroyed by the immune system in type 1 diabetes?
g)
What appears to cause the destruction of insulin-producing cells in type 1 diabetes?

Autoimmune disease
A disorder where the body's immune system behaves abnormally and starts attacking its own cells
Autopsies
The study of the human body to investigate how a disease or injury lead to death
Cardiovascular disorders
Diseases linked to the heart and its blood vessels, for example heart disease and stroke
Embryo
The name for a group of cells that are developing into a fetus. In humans this is from implantation to the 8th week of development
Glossary
A list of often difficult or specialized words with their definitions
Fermentation
Process where microorganisms are cultured so that they reproduce and increase in quantity
Gene
A short piece of DNA which is responsible for the inheritance of a particular characteristic. It codes for the production of a specific protein
Gene therapy
A new, experimental method of fighting disease by replacing a defective gene with a healthy gene
Genetic engineering
A general name for the processes which scientists use to produce desired characteristics or substances that are in short supply, such as human insulin
Glucagon
A hormone produced by the pancreas. It causes the liver to convert glycogen back to glucose and to release glucose into the bloodstream.
Glucose
A type of sugar: a mono saccharide with 6 carbon atoms (a hexose sugar)
Harvested
The process by which a useful substance is extracted
Home Office
The UK government department responsible for regulating the use of animals in scientific research
Hormone
A chemical messenger produced by a particular gland or cells of the endocrine system. Hormones are transported throughout the body in the blood stream but they produce a response only in specific target cells
Hyperglycaemic
This is the term used when the blood glucose level is too high (more than 10 mmol/l)
Hypoglycaemic
This is the term used when the blood glucose level is too low (less than 4 mmol/l)
Immune system
The body's own system for protecting it against disease (where it produces antibodies to attack invading pathogens)
In vitro fertilisation
A process where the egg is fertilised outside of the body and then transferred back into the uterus to develop normally
Insulin
A hormone produced by the pancreas. It allows cells in the body to take in and store glucose.
Liver
A large organ in the upper abdomen which manufactures, stores and breaks down substances as required by the body
Non-animal alternatives
Processes such as cell culture, computer modelling, imaging and microdosing of human volunteers that can give information on potential harmful effects of a substance
Obesity
A disorder where an excessive amount of fat has accumulated in the body. It results when the energy taken in as food is stored in the body instead of being used up through activity
Pancreas
An endocrine gland which produces insulin
Respiration
The biochemical process by which the cells in the body releases energy
Sterile
Uncontaminated by microorganisms
UK Law [for animal testing]
Animal welfare is regulated in the UK by the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986


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