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Diabetes Essay

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“Diabetes is not a single disease, but a group of disorders that together impair the body’s ability to metabolize, or break down and use, blood sugar, or glucose” (Jacobs 37). There are many types of diabetes which effect different organs in the body, but the most common type is Diabetes Mellitus. In this type of diabetes there is a problem with the glucose in the blood and the production or use of insulin. In 2012, 29.1 million Americans, or 9.3% of the population, had diabetes (Statistics About Diabetes). Diabetes is a disease that has affected and still effects men, women, and children all around the world.
The disease of diabetes dates back to 81 AD (History of Diabetes Mellitus). It was first discovered in this time period but research has continued for hundreds of years to find out the basics of the disease. It was not until 1776 that Dobson found excess sugar in the urine of a patient which got the ball rolling on the research to find the cause and treatment for this disease (History of Diabetes Mellitus). As time went on, Claude Bernard discovered the role of the liver in glycogenesis, the formation of glycogen from sugar, in 1857 and Mering and Minkowski discovered the role of the pancreas in pathogenesis of diabetes in 1889 (History of Diabetes), Even though all of these discoveries made huge progress, scientists and doctors did not stop there. Later, Banting and Best discovered the basis of insulin and how to clinically use it in 1921 (Jacobs 41). From this

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