Type 2 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (or adult-onset diabetes) is a metabolic disorder where high levels of blood sugar  occur. Left untreated, it can cause heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure.

Cause
Usually, blood sugar levels are regulated by insulin, but in type 2 diabetes this does not work properly. Insulin is a hormone which tells the muscle and fat cells of the body to take up sugar from the blood. If there is too much sugar in the blood for a long period of time, the muscle and fat cells start to ignore insulin. As a result, sugar stays in the blood and is not taken up, leading to a high blood sugar.Hall J. 2012. Guyton and Hall's Textbook of Medical Physiology, pp. 950-951. Saunders Elsevier, Philadelphia

This situation is different from diabetes mellitus type 1. In this case, the islet cells, which make insulin in the pancreas, have been destroyed by the body, and as a result there is no insulin.Basics about diabetes, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/learn.htm Diabetes type 1 usually occurs in children or young adults, whilst diabetes type 2 usually occurs in older people. However, recently childhood obesity has led to some young adults and teenagers developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes makes up around 90% of cases of diabetes, while type 1 diabetes and other types of diabetes make up the other 10%.

Type 2 diabetes is a result of both genetics and lifestyle. People who have relatives with diabetes type 2 are at an increased risk. They may develop diabetes if they have other risk factors in their lifestyle, for example obesity, or low amount of exercise.Kumar et al 2012. Robbins and Cotran Pathological Basis of Disease, p. 1136. Saunders Elsevier, Philidelphia

Complications
Poorly managed diabetes can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure.

Treatment
Type 2 diabetes can often be treated just by losing weight and exercising more, as these increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. A medicine called Metformin is often prescribed, which works by helping the fat and muscle cells of the body listen to the signal from insulin to take up sugar from the blood.Ripsin CM, Kang H, Urban RJ (January 2009). "Management of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus". Am Fam Physician 79 (1): 29–36. PMID 19145963.

Reducing carbohydrate consumption could help with managing type 2 diabetes.

References

Category:Diabetes mellitus