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Type 1 Diabetes Research Paper

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Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing-β-cells located in the pancreas, specifically in the islets of Langerhans, responsible for regulating blood glucose levels in the blood. Insulin is a hormone which when released, signals the live, muscle and fat cells to take in glucose to be used as energy. If the body has sufficient energy, then the liver can store the glucose through the passage of insulin into glycogen. Glucagon, the antagonistic hormone to insulin produced by Alpha cells in the pancreas, is released when the blood sugar levels are too low and causes the liver to convert the stored glycogen into glucose. The difference between type1 and type 2 diabetes is that T2D is when the body does not effectively respond to …show more content…

In the absence of insulin, the body goes into ketosis, where ketones are produced by burning fatty acids; this leads to extreme weight loss, disorientation and confusion. This is alone dangerous, as prolonged production of ketones which lead to a high concentration of them in the blood, and with the absence of insulin, leads to the condition diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA); some symptoms of which are deep labored breathing, rapid heartbeat, confusion and disorientation and even a coma. Also, as no insulin is produced and therefore not released, the liver release glucose excessively despite the cells not being able to absorb it – leads to high blood sugar levels. High glucose (sugar) levels leads to hyperglycemia – glucose levels in the blood are higher than 7.0 mmol/L (126mg/dl) when fasting and levels higher than 11.0 mmol/L (200mg/dl) 2 hours after eating. Hypoglycemia can also occur when blood glucose levels fall too low; less than 4mmol/L. The symptoms for both hypo/hyperglycemia are fatigue, dizziness and blurred vision. Source - http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-Hyperglycaemia.html

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