What is type 2 diabetes?
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What is type 2 diabetes?
Can type 2 diabetes be prevented?
What are the signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes?
Eyes: Diabetes can lead to vision loss or even blindness.
Stem cell cure: hope for diabetes
Guide:Diabetes and Sexual Problems
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What is type 2 diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. People with diabetes have problems converting food to energy. After a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas,to help them process blood glucose into energy.
People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly. Eventually, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin for the body?s needs. As a result, the amount of glucose in the blood increases while the cells are starved of energy. Over the years, high blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke, lindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections,and amputation.
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Can type 2 diabetes be prevented?
Research has demonstrated that people at risk for type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay developing type 2 diabetes by losing a little weight. The results of the diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) showed that moderate diet changes and exercise can delay and prevent type 2 diabetes. Participants in this federally funded study of 3,234 people at high risk for diabetes experienced a 5- to 7-percent weight loss. That?s 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person.
Study participants were overweight and had higher than normal levels of blood glucose, a condition called pre-diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance).
Both pre-diabetes and obesity are strong risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Because of the high risk for diabetes among some minority groups, about half of the DPP participants were African American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific islander, or Hispanic American/Latino.
DPP participants also included others at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, such as women with a history of gestational diabetes and individuals aged 60 and older.
The DPP tested two approaches to preventing diabetes: a program of healthy eating and exercise (lifestyle change), and the diabetes drug metformin.
People in the lifestyle change group exercised about 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, usually by walking, and lowered their intake of fat and calories.
Those who took the diabetes drug metformin received information on exercise and diet. A third group only received information on exercise and diet.
The results showed that people in the lifestyle change group reduced their risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. Average weight loss in the first year of the study was 15 pounds. Lifestyle change was even more effective in those 60 and older. They reduced their risk by 71 percent. People receiving metformin reduced their risk by 31 percent.
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What are the signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes?
More than 6 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes and do not know it. Many have no signs or symptoms.
Symptoms can also be so mild that you might not even notice them. Some people have symptoms but do not suspect diabetes.
Here is what to look for:
* increased thirst
* increased hunger
* fatigue
* increased urination, especially at night
* weight loss
* blurred vision
* sores that do not heal
Many people do not find out they have the disease until they have diabetes complications, such as blurry vision or heart trouble. Finding out early if you have diabetes is important because treatment can prevent damage to the body from diabetes.
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Diabetes, What to Know
Eyes: Diabetes can lead to vision loss or even blindness.
To take good care of your eyes:
- Keep your blood sugar close to your goal.
- Bring high blood pressure down.
- Get a dilated eye exam by an eye doctor every year. Your eye doctor will use drops to enlarge your pupils to look inside your eyes.
- See your eye doctor if:
- Your vision is blurry.
- You see double.
- You see spots or floaters.
- One or both eyes hurt.
- You feel pressure in your eye.
- You can't see things at the sides like you used to.
- You have trouble reading.
Feet: Diabetes can harm the blood vessels and nerves in your feet.
To keep your feet healthy:- Keep your blood sugar close to your goal.
- Take off your shoes and socks and have your feet checked at least once a year--more often if you have any foot problems.
- Wash your feet every day. Dry them, even between toes.
- Check daily for cuts, blisters, redness, and swelling. If you cannot see the bottom of your feet, use a mirror or ask someone for help. If you find anything, contact your health care provider--no matter how small the problem.
- Never walk barefoot.
- Wear shoes that fit well. If you have lost feeling in your feet, ask your health care provider for advice on proper shoes.
- Break in new shoes slowly.
- Wear clean padded socks that fit well. Make sure the sock seams are in the right place.
- Cut your nails straight across and file the edges.
- Shake out your shoes before putting them on. A small pebble can lead to problems.
- Don't smoke.
Heart: People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure than people without diabetes.
To have a healthy heart:
- Lose weight, if you are overweight. Talk to your health care provider.
- Become more physically active.
- Have your blood pressure checked at each health care provider visit.
- Ask your health care provider what your blood pressure goal should be. A blood pressure level under 130/85 mm Hg is the goal for most people with diabetes.
- Don't smoke.
Source: FDA
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Stem cell cure hope for diabetes
by Steve Sexton
Scientists have used stem cells from human bone marrow to repair defective insulin-producing pancreatic cells responsible for diabetes in mice. To read the full story from the BBC News Desk
The treatment also halted damage to the kidneys caused by the condition.
Researchers from New Orleans' Tulane University are hopeful it can be adapted to treat diabetes in humans.
The study, featured in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was welcomed as "interesting work" by Diabetes UK.
Stem cells are immature cells which have the capacity to turn into any kind of tissue in the body.
The US team treated diabetic mice who had high blood sugar and damaged kidneys.
One group of mice were injected with stem cells. After three weeks they were shown to be producing higher levels of mouse insulin than untreated mice and had lower blood sugar levels.
The injections also appeared to halt damaging changes taking place in the glomeruli, the bulb-like structures in the kidneys that filter the blood.
Researcher Dr Darwin Prockop said: "We are not certain whether the kidneys improved because the blood sugar was lower or because the human cells were helping to repair the kidneys.
"But we suspect the human cells were repairing the kidneys in much the same way they were repairing the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas."
Growing problem
Dr Prockop said his team were planning to carry out trials in patients with diabetes.
"The physicians will be selecting patients with diabetes whose kidneys are beginning to fail.
"They will determine whether giving the patients large numbers of their own adult stem cells will lower blood sugar, increase secretion of insulin from the pancreas and improve the function of the kidney."
An estimated 2.2 million people in the UK have diabetes, and the numbers are growing.
Of this total, around 250,000 have insulin-dependent, or Type 1 diabetes.
The rest have Type 2 diabetes, which is closely associated with obesity.
Dr Angela Wilson, research director at Diabetes UK, said: "This is interesting work in an exciting area of diabetes research.
"Theoretically, pancreatic beta cells produced from a patient's own bone marrow could be used to treat diabetes, overcoming the requirement for immunosuppression following islet transplantation.
"However, a way to prevent transplanted cells from being destroyed by the body is needed as this is why Type 1 diabetes develops in the first place."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6123588.stm
Published: 2006/11/12 00:20:17 GMT
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Guide: Diabetes and Sexual Problems
How Diabetes Contributes to Erectile Dysfunction
How Diabetes Contributes to Erection Problems
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD, November 2005
• Erection Problems
To understand how diabetes leads to erectile dysfunction (ED), you first have to understand how erections work. Getting an erection is really a complicated process.
Anatomy of an Erection
In the shaft of the penis there are two side-by-side chambers of spongy tissue called the corpora cavernosa. They're mainly responsible for erections. Just below them is another chamber called the corpus spongiosum. The urethra, which carries semen and urine, runs through the center of it.
The corpora cavernosa are made of small arteries and veins, smooth muscle fiber, and empty spaces. The chambers are wrapped in a sheath of thin tissue.
When you get an erection, nerve signals from your brain or from the nerve endings in your penis cause the smooth muscle of the chambers to relax and arteries to dilate, or open wider. This allows a rush of blood to fill the empty spaces.
The pressure of blood flow causes the sheath of tissue around the chambers to press on veins that normally drain blood out of the penis. That traps blood in the penis. As more blood flows in, the penis expands and stiffens, and you have an erection.
When the excitement ends, the smooth muscle contracts again, taking pressure off the veins and allowing blood to flow back out of the penis. Then the penis returns to a flaccid state.
Diabetes: A Perfect Storm for Erectile Dysfunction
Many common problems related to diabetes all come together to cause erectile dysfunction. That's why various studies show that 35% to 75% of men with diabetes will develop some degree of erectile dysfunction. If you are having difficulty getting erections, there may be a number of things going on in your body.
Nitric oxide is a chemical released into the bloodstream by the lining of blood vessels. It acts as a kind of chemical messenger that tells the smooth muscles and arteries in the penis to relax and let in blood.
High blood sugar, which must be managed carefully if you have diabetes, causes blood vessel and nerve damage that affects many processes in the body. Sexual response is one of them. Damage to the blood vessels blocks the release of nitric oxide. A lack of nitric oxide results in constricted blood vessels and reduces blood flow to the penis.
What's more, according to the American Diabetes Association, 73% of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure or take blood pressure medication. The combination of high blood pressure and diabetes also increases the risk for blood vessel damage, further reducing blood flow.
High cholesterol is also common in people with diabetes. LDL cholesterol, or what's called "bad" cholesterol, can interfere with the ability of blood vessels to dilate. High cholesterol levels result in fatty deposits in artery walls. This buildup of fatty deposit can reduce blood flow.
Some of the choices that men with diabetes make also feed into this "perfect storm." Smoking, especially. Smoking by itself reduces blood flow all through the body.
Last but not least, feeling badly about your health can lead to erectile dysfunction. For most men, erectile dysfunction is mainly a physical problem, but the mind always plays some part in sexual arousal.
Although having diabetes means that you may encounter problems with your sexual functioning, you really can turn it around. By living a healthy lifestyle and working with your doctor, you can get your diabetes under control and treat erectile dysfunction if it becomes a problem for you.
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SOURCES: American Diabetes Association, "Complications of Diabetes in the United States." Brock, Gerald, Medscape Clinical Update, "New Horizons in Erectile Dysfunction Therapy." Ferrario, C.M., Levy, P., "Sexual Dysfunction in Patients with Hypertension: Implications for Therapy," Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 4(6):424-432, Guay, A.T., "Lecture 5: Sexual dysfunction in the diabetic patient," International Journal of Impotence Research, vol 13: Supplement 5, pp. S47-S50. Miller, T.A., "Diagnostic Evaluation of Erectile Dysfunction," American Family Physician, Vinick, A., et al, "Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy," Seminars in Neurology, 23(4):365-372.
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