About half of the 800,000 patients with type I disease are under 20 years of age. Producing little or no natural insulin, these diabetics must inject insulin several times a day and closely monitor their blood glucose levels. These individuals usually produce insulin, but either in too small quantities or their bodies show resistance to the hormone, or both. Either way, glucose accumulates in the blood. As difficult as diabetes is to live with, its complications are even more devastating-physically, emotionally, and financially.
Diabetics are two to four times more likely to get heart disease than nondiabetics.
People with diabetes are 20 times more likely to experience kidney failure than those without diabetes. Diabetics tend to have more infections in all parts of their bodies, from gum infections to pneumonia to postsurgical complications. The federal government estimates that caring for these complications and the underlying diabetes that leads to them accounts for one in four Medicare dollars and one in seven dollars spent on health care annually in the United States. The complexity of the disease and its complications means that research must explore a range of topics and involve diverse disciplines. The center involves about 100 professionals from 16 departments, including molecular biologists, cell biologists, animal geneticists, and others.