Type-1 diabetes
also see: Diabetes
and Type-2 diabetesType 1 diabetes is usually caused by the destruction of the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas by an autoimmune reaction and generally starts before the age of 40. By an unfortunate chain of events, the body's own defense system attacks these insulin producing cells. It is estimated that 5-10% of patients who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes may go unnoticed at first, these are the symptoms:
- Increased thirst and frequent urination is caused by excess sugar that builds up in the bloodstream. As a consequence, the tissues lose fluid. Feeling thirsty, patients drink and urinate more than usual.
- Blurred vision is also the result of fluid loss by body tissues. It also affects the lenses of the eye, which then cannot focus properly.
- Extreme hunger is caused by the depletion of energy from tissues in organs and muscles. The hungry feeling will not disappear after eating, since the sugar in your food never reaches your energy-starved tissues without insulin.
- Sweet urine is due to the fact that excess blood glucose appears in the urine above normal levels.
- Weight loss is a logical result of not getting enough energy and building blocks to the muscles while stored fat will also be converted in response to the energy demand by the body tissues.
- Fatigue is the result of deprivation of sugar in all body cells, including the brain.
- Blurred vision is also the result of fluid loss by body tissues. It also affects the lenses of the eye, which then cannot focus properly.
- Extreme hunger is caused by the depletion of energy from tissues in organs and muscles. The hungry feeling will not disappear after eating, since the sugar in your food never reaches your energy-starved tissues without insulin.
- Sweet urine is due to the fact that excess blood glucose appears in the urine above normal levels.
- Weight loss is a logical result of not getting enough energy and building blocks to the muscles while stored fat will also be converted in response to the energy demand by the body tissues.
- Fatigue is the result of deprivation of sugar in all body cells, including the brain.
Genetics
In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk factors from both parents. It is a polygenic disease, meaning many different genes contribute to its expression. However apparently environmental factors can influence this predisposition in a positive or possibly negative way. It was shown that if one twin of identical twins had type-1, the other would be affected in only 30-50% of these cases.
Environmental factors can strongly influence expression of type 1. A study showed that for identical twins, when one twin had type 1 diabetes, the other twin only had type 1 30-50% of the time. Despite having the exact same genome, one twin had the disease, where the other did not; this shows that environmental factors, in addition to genetic factors, can influence disease prevalence.
One environmental trigger might be related to cold weather since type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter and is more common in places with cold climates. Certain virus infection have also been mentioned as non-genetic trigger to develop type 1 diabetes. A third factor might be a longer period of breastfeeding which may have a preventive role in the development of type-1 diabetes.
