Type 1 Diabetes
Insulin dependent diabetes

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Type 1 Diabetes: Insulin dependent diabetes

Type i diabetes - Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) or formerly called juvenile-onset diabetes accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed diabetes, are usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults but can occur at any age. In this form of diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body's immune system has attacked and destroyed them. The cells become starved of energy and there is an excess of glucose in the blood.

The body needs this hormone to convert food into energy. Without insulin, glucose (sugar) from the food you eat cannot enter cells, blood glucose levels become excessively high. People with Type i diabetes must have daily injections of insulin to live. Proper diet, exercise and home blood sugar monitoring is essential to manage the disease. Type 1 diabetic needs a balanced foods and exercise to stay of the risk of hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar, and hyperglycemia, high blood sugar.

There are two forms of type 1 diabetes:

1. Idiopathic Type 1 Diabetes - Refers to rare forms of the disease with unknown cause.

2. Immune-Mediated Diabetes - An autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system destroy, or attempts to destroy, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

Risk Factor
The main risk factors include the following:

• Family Health History - You are at greater risk of having it, if your parents or siblings have type i diabetes. Genetic actors do play a role here.

• Autoimmune Conditions
  Type i diabetes is most commonly an autoimmune disease, caused by the body's immune system attacking the cells of the pancreas. You may be at a greater than average risk of developing type 1 diabetes if you have another autoimmune condition, such as: Hashimoto's disease, Grave's disease, Addison's disease and Pernicious anemia.

• Birth and Early Childhood Conditions
  The following may be risk factors for developing type 1 diabetes:

  • Born to an older mother

  • Born to a mother with preeclampsia during pregnancy

  • Early introduction of formula milk to infants.

• Ethnic Background
  If you are of Northern European or Mediterranean ancestry, you are at increased risk of having type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes are caused by the build up of glucose in the blood and the lack of glucose in body cells. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms of high blood sugar include the following:

• Blurry vision

• Extreme hunger but loss of weight

• Extreme thirst 

• Extreme fatigue and weakness

• Frequent urination

• High levels of sugar in the urine when tested

• High levels of sugar in the blood when tested

• Irritability and mood changes

• Nausea and vomiting

• Skin infections

• Wounds that don't heal

Complication
Type 1 diabetes can cause many different problems. However, the three key complications of diabetes include the following:

• Hypoglycemia - low blood sugar; sometimes called an insulin reaction; occurs when blood sugar drops too low.

• Hyperglycemia - high blood sugar; occurs when blood sugar is too high, and can be a sign that diabetes is not well controlled.

• Ketoacidosis - diabetic coma; loss of consciousness due to untreated or under-treated diabetes.

In the long-term: Blindness (retinopathy), Kidney disease (nephropathy), Heart disease (cardiovascular disease), Stroke, Nerve disease (neuropathy) , Impotence and early death.

Treatment
The only cure for type i diabetes is a pancreas transplant, which is rarely done. Because both pancreas transplants and kidney transplants require lifelong use of powerful drugs to suppress immune reactions that reject the organs, pancreatic transplants are usually done in those with type 1 diabetes whom also need a kidney transplant. The side effects of immune-suppressive drugs can be severe and even worse than the disease. One or two people out of every 10 who get the surgery die within a year. Moreover, half of the people who get this operation reject the new pancreas. If the transplant fails, diabetes returns. For most people, type 1 diabetes is a life-long disease that can be effectively managed with insulin injections.

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