DIABETES

Diabetes is so wide spread in the world that there are hardly any person who does not know what diabetes is. But to recap, there are predominantly two types of diabetes; Type 1 and Type2. Some general information on these types of diabetes is given below.

In Type 1 diabetes the pancreas in the body is not able to produce insulin (the only hormone that reduces the content of sugar in the blood stream) and is common in children but not restricted to them. This type of diabetes is insulin dependent.

Type 2 diabetes is more common and it is estimated that some 95% of all diabetic patients belong to this type. In this case, the body does produce insulin, but either in insufficient quantities or the insulin produced is inefficient. This condition is also known as “Diabetes Mellitus”. This type of diabetes is non-insulin dependent.

Another variety of Type 2 diabetes is “Diabetes Insipidus” where there is excessive excretion of highly diluted urine. Reduction in the amount of fluid intake does not have any effect on this condition. There are also different varieties of Diabetes Insipidus, the most common being “Neurogenic Diabetes Insipidus” and the other is “Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus”.

There is another type of diabetes that occurs in pregnant women and is known as “Gestational Diabetes” and occurs in women with no history of diabetes but develop such symptoms during pregnancy. Read more »