People with pre-diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Gestational diabetes also involves a combination of inadequate insulin secretion and responsiveness, resembling type 2 diabetes in several respects. It develops during pregnancy and may improve or disappear after delivery. Insulin is called the “hunger hormone .

Causes of Diabetes Mellitus

Glucose into most cells from the blood (primarily muscle and fat cells, but not central nervous system cells), deficiency of insulin or the insensitivity of its receptors plays a central role in all forms of diabetes mellitus. Much of the carbohydrate in food is converted within a few hours to the monosaccharide glucose, the principal carbohydrate found in blood. Type 1 diabetes mellitus—formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM), childhood diabetes or also known as juvenile diabetes, is characterized by loss of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas leading to a deficiency of insulin. The main cause of beta cell loss leading to type 1 diabetes is a T-cell mediated autoimmune attack. Type 2 diabetes mellitus—previously known as adult-onset diabetes, maturity-onset diabetes.

Symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus

1.Drowsiness.

2.Nausea.

3.Decreased endurance during exercise

Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Person with diabetes keeps blood sugar levels tightly controlled, complications are less likely to develop. People with diabetes should always carry or wear a medical identification bracelet or tag to alert health care professionals to the presence of diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes who are able to maintain a healthy weight may be able to avoid the need for large doses of insulin. People with diabetes also tend to have high levels of cholesterol in the blood, so limiting the amount of saturated fat in the diet is important. Drugs may also be needed to help control the level of cholesterol in the blood. Diet management is very important in people with both types of diabetes. Doctors recommend a healthy, balanced diet and efforts to maintain a healthy weight. Some people benefit from meeting with a dietitian to develop an optimal eating plan. Diabetic ketoacidosis is also a medical emergency, because it can cause coma and death. Oral medications are available to lower blood glucose in Type II diabetics include tolbutamide, tolazamide, acetohexamide, and chlorpropamide.

Diabetes is a serious, lifelong condition that affects an estimated 20.8 million people. About 30 percent (6.2 million) do not know they have it. Each year, about 1.5 million people find out they have diabetes (1) and probably have had the disease for seven years before it was diagnosed.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder affecting the way the body uses digested food for growth and energy. As a person eats, digestive juices break down the food into a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body.

Types of Diabetes Mellitus:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus can occur at any age and is characterized by the marked and progressive inability of the pancreas to secrete insulin because of autoimmune destruction of the beta cells. It commonly occurs in children, with a fairly abrupt onset; however, newer antibody tests have allowed for the identification of more people with the new-onset adult form of type 1 diabetes mellitus called latent autoimmune diabetes of the adult (LADA).

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:

· Increased thirst

· Increased urination

· Weight loss in spite of increased appetite

Type 2 diabetes mellitus was once called adult-onset diabetes. Now, because of the epidemic of obesity and inactivity in children, type 2 diabetes mellitus is occurring at younger and younger ages. Although type 2 diabetes mellitus typically affects individuals older than 40 years, it has been diagnosed in children as young as 2 years of age who have a family history of diabetes.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:

· Blurred vision

· Slow-healing infections

· Impotence in men

Genetic causes — Many people with type 2 diabetes have a family member with type 2 diabetes or conditions commonly associated with diabetes, such as high blood lipid levels, high blood pressure, or obesity. As an example, 39 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes have at least one parent with the disease. The lifetime risk that a first-degree relative (sister, brother, son, daughter) will develop diabetes is five to ten times higher than that of a person of a similar age and weight who has no family history of diabetes.

Complications:

People with diabetes may experience many serious, long-term complications. Some of these complications begin within months of the onset of diabetes, although most tend to develop after a few years. Most of the complications are progressive. The more tightly a person with diabetes is able to control the levels of sugar in the blood, the less likely it is that these complications will develop or become worse.

The eyes can be affected in several ways by diabetes mellitus. Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes for irreversible blindness in the United States. This retinopathy can occur with either type I or type II diabetes mellitus, usually a decade or so after the onset of diabetes. Most persons with type I diabetes and many of those with type II diabetes develop some background (non-proliferative ) retinopathy. Proliferative retinopathy is more ominous and is more likely to occur when diabetes mellitus is poorly controlled.