Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Type 1 diabetes comes about due to the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin is very vital in the body since it is involved in regulation of blood glucose and conversion of glucose into energy. Individuals with type 1 diabetes are required to have a daily intake of insulin and regular monitoring of blood glucose levels (Atkinson, Eisenbarth, & Michels, 2014).
Pathophysiology
Type 1 diabetes comes about due to destruction of pancreatic beta cells. A number of risk factors contribute towards destruction of beta cells. Autoimmune response especially towards beta cells is one of the risk factors towards destruction of beta cells. It involves a continuous expansion of the autoreactive CD4+, T helper cells as well as CD8+ T cells. There are also involvements of the autoantibody producing B cells together with the activation of the innate immune system. All these risk factors contribute towards destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas hence hindering the production of insulin. Treatment with insulin causes a temporarily increase in an individual’s insulin level and hence controlling blood glucose levels (Haller, Atkinson, & Schatz, 2005).
Risk factors
Type 1 diabetes is more common than type 2. This type of diabetes can occur at any age but it’s more common between infancy and the late 30s. A number of risk factors are associated with its appearance. Some of the risk factors include; early infancy illness, being born of type 1 diabetes parents; being born by an alder mother; being born by a mother who had suffered from preeclampsia during pregnancy as well as suffering from autoimmune disorders like Grave’s disease and Addison’s disease (Atkinson et al., 2014).
Manifestations
Type 1 diabetes mellitus manifests with; Frequent urination, having unusual thirst, experiencing extreme hunger, experiencing sudden loss of weight, general body weakness, having extreme fatigue, experiencing blurred vision, irritability as well as nausea and vomiting. Those children with this condition are restless, apathetic and experience problem at school (Atkinson et al., 2014)..
Complications
Some of the complications of type 1 diabetes include; neuropathy, nephropathy, heart and blood vessel disease, damage to the eye, damage to the foot, complications of the pregnancy as well as skin and mouth conditions (Atkinson et al., 2014).
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common forms of diabetes and affects 85-90% of the people suffering from diabetes. This type of diabetes is known to be affecting older people than young individuals. In type 2 diabetes, the body produces insulin but is not in the amount that the body needs in order to work effectively. This type of diabetes comes about due to both environmental and genetic factors (Reinehr, 2013).
Pathophysiology
Type 2 diabetes come s about as a result of insufficient production of the insulin by the pancreatic beta cells. This occurs in a setting of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a process through which the cells are unable to responds adequately towards the normal levels of the insulin. In insulin resistance usually occurs within the muscles, liver as well as fat tissue. In the liver insulin is used in suppressing the release of glucose. The proportion of insulin resistance versus beta dysfunction usually varies from one individual to another. An increase in the lipid breakdown as well as a high level of glucagon in the blood has a direct association to the insulin resistance. Not all the people who have insulin resistance eventually develop diabetes since for the diabetes to occur there need to be an impairment in the all the pancreas (DeFronzo, 2004).
Risk factors
There are a number of risk factors associated with the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. The risk factors for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes include; people who have pre-diabetes, people aged above 35 years old, obese or overweight individuals who are over 45 years old, individuals suffering from cardiovascular disease like heart attack, women who have gestational diabetes and individuals taking antipsychotic medication, cigarette smoking individuals as well as the people with low physical activity (Reinehr, 2013).
Manifestations
Type 2 diabetes manifests in a number of ways. Individuals with type 2 diabetes, manifest with a feeling of thirst, passing more urine than usual, having a feeling of being tired, unexplained sudden loss of weight, having cuts and wounds that heal slowly, itching around the penis or the vagina and experiencing blurred vision. The signs of the diabetes are not that obvious and are usually diagnosed during routine checkup of the individual (DeFronzo, 2004).
Complications
Individuals with type 2 diabetes have a high risk of experiencing a number of complications associated with the disease. These complications includes; having a more likelihood of developing heart disease or even experiencing stroke, being at risk of diabetic retinopathy, experiencing damage to the peripheral nervous system, having foot problems which might lead to the amputation of the foot, pregnancy women might experience miscarriage or even have still births, individuals may also experience sexual dysfunction as well as experiencing a number of kidney diseases (DeFronzo, 2004).
References
Atkinson, M. a, Eisenbarth, G. S., & Michels, A. W. (2014). Type 1 diabetes. Lancet, 383, 69–82.
DeFronzo, R. A. (2004). Pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Medical Clinics of North America, 88, 787–835
Haller, M. J., Atkinson, M. A., & Schatz, D. (2005). Type 1 diabetes mellitus: Etiology, presentation, and management. Pediatric Clinics of North America.
Reinehr, T. (2013). Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents. World Journal of Diabetes, 4, 270–81.
