One of the most dreadful diseases that could happen to an individual is diabetes and it really isn’t that easy to classify this life-threatening and organ-attacking disease because it does not only have a single type; it has two. IDDM or the Insulin Dependent Type and the NIDDM or the non-insulin Dependent types are the two general classifications of diabetes. Diabetes is a disorder in drug metabolism because it basically permits or even promotes high sugar blood levels in the body which is life-threatening. Hormones insulin and glucagon are the ones that are involved in the maintenance of a stable blood sugar level and disturbances in their cycle could most likely lead to abnormalities in blood sugar levels (ADAM, 2011).
The Endocrine system is composed of different organs that have a common goal. It is one of the major organ systems in the body and it normally works with the nervous system to obtain general body equilibrium in physical and chemical levels.
Pancreas: An Endocrine Gland and the 2 Hormones it secretes
Pancreas is a very important organ of the body. Aside from the fact that it fulfills a significant role in digestion, it is also an organ with great contributions to the whole endocrine system. The two types of hormone that this both endocrine and exocrine organ secretes are the hormones insulin and glucagon. Both are relatively needed for a relatively stable blood sugar level. Insulin is responsible for stabilizing a high blood sugar level while glucagon’s effects are the exact opposite. It helps raise a low blood sugar level. The mechanism behind this cycle is rather simple.
When blood sugar levels are high, insulin acts by regulating fat and other metabolites towards the liver and other tissues for storage, decreasing levels of sugar on the blood. On the other hand, when blood sugar levels are too low, glucagon acts by unlocking stored nutrients from the liver and other body tissues and releasing it to the blood. As an analogy, it could be compared to withdrawing and depositing from a bank. The act of withdrawing is mediated by the hormone glucagon and deposition by the hormone Insulin.
A Significant Statistical Data from American Diabetes Association
Studying statistical data is an important part of analyzing a disease. It is also a way of knowing how many casualties a population suffered from so far and other significant findings. According to ADA (2011), “25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes”. This is a very significant data because this could cause this means that 25.8 million individuals in the US suffer from a disease that could be the cause of their death any time. Having diabetes could have a huge impact on the lives of these people.
There is really a big difference between what an individual with diabetes usually does compare with the things that an individual without diabetes has to do. One of those differences is taking insulin injections from time to time (if they have IDDM).
People with IDDM have to do this to keep their blood sugar levels at stable levels. Actually, there are already steps state government health agencies do and advise to people so that health impacts of diseases such as diabetes could be lessened. One of those ways is by telling people, especially with diabetes mellitus to monitor their blood sugar levels at regular intervals using the latest technologies. In severe cases of diabetes mellitus, blood transfusions and dialysis are more recommended than simply taking insulin supplements.
References
ADAM. (2011). Diabetes. US National Library of Medicine. Accessed January 2012. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002194/.
American Diabetes Association. (2011). Diabetes Statistics. Accessed January 2012. Available at http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/.
