Diabetes Types
There are two different types of diabetes mellitus, designated as type I and type II. They are actually quite different in presentation, symptoms, onset, and cause, but they both refer to disorders dealing with the body's processing and handling of glucose.
Type I diabetes is much more dramatic in symptoms and presentation. It is believed to be a matter of an autoimmune disorder, where the body is producing antibodies against its own cells or organs. The onset of type I diabetes can be quite sudden and usually appears early in childhood or at an early adolescent age. Often, it appears in association with an injury or a condition such as a viral infection or a UTI (urinary tract infection). It is also known as early onset diabetes since it usually presents early in a person's lifetime.
In type I diabetes, the body produces antibodies that attack the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas, so the body does not produce enough insulin for the body to regulate blood glucose levels. Without treatment of the symptoms, unchecked type I diabetes mellitus leads to a diabetic ketoacidosis in the blood, where the blood becomes more and more acidic. This ketoacidosis can lead to patient symtoms of vomiting, nausea, dehydration, and serious changes and compications in level of of body potassium. All these symptoms can lead to death if not treatly properly. There is less evidence of genetic predisposition to type I diabetes mellitus.
Type II diabetes is more gradual and subtle and usually presents later in life, so is also known as late onset diabetes. In type II diabetes, the body's cells become more and more immune to the effects of insulin, so that blood glucose levels resist the body's efforts to regulate them. This can occur at any level of this glucose processing, such as the glucose receptor, the downstream glucose chain reactions, or glucose transporters into cells.
In type II diabetes, there is very strong evidence of familial history and correlation. Type II diabetes occurs later in life, often after the age of 40. There are many risk factors that contribute and correlate to a higher risk of diabetes mellitus type II. These include a high blood pressure; a high cholesterol, fat, and triglyceride levels; a mother giving birth to a large weight baby leading to gestational diabetes; a diet high in fats and low in fiber; a high intake of alcohol; a habit of smoking; a sedentary lifestyle devoid fo regular activity and exercise; certain ethnicities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics; and increasing age.
