See diabetes mellitus for further general information on diabetes. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...
Type 1 diabetes (formerly known as "childhood" or "juvenile" diabetes or "insulin dependent" diabetes)is most commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents, but can occur in adults as well. It is an autoimmune disorder, in which the body's own immune system attacks the beta cells in the Islets of Langerhans of the pancreas, destroying them or damaging them sufficiently to reduce insulin production. The autoimmune attack may be triggered by reaction to an infection, for example by one of the viruses of the Coxsackie virus family. A subtype of type 1 (identifiable by the presence of antibodies against beta cells) develops slowly and so is often confused with Type 2. In addition, a small proportion of type 1 cases has the hereditary condition maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY).
Some poisons (e.g. certain rat poisons) work by selectively destroying certain types of cells, including pancreatic beta cells, thus producing "artificial" type 1 diabetes. Other pancreatic problems including trauma, pancreatitis or tumors (either malignant or benign) can also lead to loss of insulin production.
Currently, type 1 is treated with insulin injections, lifestyle adjustments, and careful monitoring of blood glucose levels using blood test kits. Insulin delivery is also available by an insulin pump, which allows the infusion of insulin 24 hours a day at preset levels, and the ability to program push doses (bolus) of insulin as needed at meal times. The treatment must be continued indefinitely. Experimental replacement of beta cells (by transplant) is being investigated in several research programs and may become clinically available in the future.
About 5-10% of all North American cases of diabetes are Type 1 diabetics. The fraction of type 1 diabetics in other parts of the world differs; this is likely due to both differences in the rate of type 1 and differences in the rate of other types, most prominently type 2. Most of this difference is not currently understood.
Type1diabetes (formerly known as "childhood" or "juvenile" diabetes or "insulin dependent" diabetes) is most commonly diagnosed in children and adolescents, but can occur in adults as well.
A subtype of type1 (identifiable by the presence of antibodies against beta cells) develops slowly and so is often confused with Type 2.
The fraction of type1diabetics in other parts of the world differs; this is likely due to both differences in the rate of type1 and differences in the rate of other types, most prominently type 2.
Early symptoms of type1diabetes are often polyuria (frequent urination) and polydipsia (increased thirst, and consequent increased fluid intake).
Diabetes is often detected when a person suffers a problem frequently caused by diabetes, such as a heart attack, stroke, neuropathy, poor wound healing or a foot ulcer, certain eye problems, certain fungal infections, or delivering a baby with macrosomia or hypoglycemia.
Diabetes is a chronic disease with no cure (except experimentally in type1diabetics) as of 2005.
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