Diabetes_Mellitus

Over six million Americans have a chronic (slow onset, sneaky symptoms, and long term) disease (illness) called Diabetes Mellitus (a disease that causes an insulin deficiency). Insulin (a hormone that produces by the pancreas) is very important when it comes to metabolizing carbohydrates. Many people do not even know that they have this disease. Those who do not know often go undiagnosed (not knowing the resulted decision). In the United States alone, nearly twenty billion dollars has been spent in health care costs annually according to a new study performed by Dr. Yiduo Zhang of the Lewin Group in Falls Church, Virgina. Dr. Zhang and his fellow colleagues have studied a health care pattern over a two- year period that resulted in this diagnosis (knowing the resulting decision). Diabetes does not discriminate. Unfortunately, this disease has not just affected Americans, but people all over the world. Dr. Sreekumaran, an endocrinologist (a person that studies glands that produce hormones) at the Mayo Clinic has estimated that over thirty million Asian Indians have been diagnosed with Diabetes. Some experts expect this number to double over the next three decades. It has been established during this research, that even though the subjects were not obese (very fat), it seems that the insulin resistance was higher among Asian Indians. The muscle mitochondria (a part of the muscular cell that helps nutritional energy change to cellular energy) was a huge factor. Among the many nutrients our body utilizes everyday, Vitamin B1, also known as thiamin ( a white, crystal formed vitamin that can be found in egg yolk, liver, and cereal) was found to be critical (extremely important) in vascular ( vessel or ducts that move blood) health. Professor Paul Thornalley, a lead researcher at the University of Warwick, discovered that Vitamin B1 deficiency led to microvascular (small vessels) and macrovascular (large vessels) complications. The microvascular complications ranged from the kidney (organ responsible for producing urine) to the retina (part of the eye that has light sensitive cells that connect directly to the brain), and even the nerves. Complications of the nerves, also called neuropathy ( any disease process of the nerve) was found in the extremities (outermost part) of the arms and legs. Macrovascular complications have been found in the heart (a muscular organ that circulates blood throughout the body). Heart disease (an illness of the heart) and stroke (an interruption of normal blood flow to the brain). Blood plasma (the fluid part of the blood) has been found to be thiamin deficient in Diabetics. The complications showed problems in the endothelial cells (cells that line the entire vascular system). An increased risk of atherosclerosis (a condition of hardening of the arteries) has been discovered also. There has been a higher rate of thiamin found coming from the blood to the urine (acidic fluid produced by the kidneys). There are many complications from Diabetes. Prevention is vital when it comes to keeping the complications down to a minimum. Diet and exercise are just a few of the factors that can help prevent and treat Diabetes. Kathy Tigue, a Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator brought these intricacies into focus. Diabetics who smoke have a triple chance of dying from a cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) disease. There can be a risk of increased infection (contaminated disease), dental (relating to the teeth), and foot (the metatarsals of the body) problems. Even the skeletal (the supporting framework of the body) muscle (an organ that has fibrous tissue) can be affected by Diabetes. If there happens to be an incident of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose level) or hypoglycemia (low blood glucose level), they can be treated. Hyperglycemia can be prevented by eating foods that are high in fiber and minimally processed. Hypoglycemia can be treated by simply drinking four ounces of orange juice. The key to treating hypoglycemia is fast absorption. There are different resources that can be useful in order to treat Diabetes. Eating a healthy diet and doing routine exercise can help tremendously. Medication (a drug used to treat a disease) in various forms have been produced. One of the well-known medications is insulin. A new diabetic drug called Liraglitude ( a medication that helps promote weight loss and minimize blood sugar). Dr. Allen Garber of the Baylor College of Medicine performed this new study on this medication. The research had come to the conclusion that Liraglitude and Byetta (a medication that has the effect of stimulation secretion of insulin) are analogs of a hormone (a substance made in a organ and moved to another part of the body). This medication does have a rare side effect called pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Even though pancreatitis is rare, it is extremely dangerous. Other side effects included nausea (sickly feeling to the stomach), vomiting (the contents of the stomach releasing from the body), and diarrhea (loose bowel). To date, this new diabetic drug has not been FDA approved. Taking various tests and exams is very important. Taking the A1C test (a test that measures the three- month average glucose levels) two to four times a year. A urine test should be done also to check for protein (a nitrogen substance that is important in a diet). Getting a complete cholesterol (solids of fat that has two forms) check-up is critical. Low-density lipoprotein (“LDL” the bad cholesterol)and high-density lipoprotein (“HDL” the good cholesterol) are the two forms of cholesterol. A complete cholesterol test also includes getting the triglyceride (chief component of fats and oils) levels checked. Going to a podiatrist (foot doctor) and an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) should be done on a annual basis. The podiatrist will be able to make sure that the feet are in good health and the eye doctor would be able to make sure that neuropathy and retinopathy (disease process of the eye) have not taken effect. As time progresses, new discoveries will be found in treating diabetes. Maybe a new discovery will find a cure (healed of an ailment).