ETYM New Lat., from Greek, to pass or cross over. Related to Diabase.
Any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive urination and persistent thirst.
Disease diabetes mellitus in which a disorder of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas prevents the body producing the hormone insulin, so that sugars cannot be used properly.
Treatment is by strict dietary control and oral or injected insulin, depending on the type of diabetes.
There are two forms of diabetes: Type 1, or insulin-dependent diabetes, which usually begins in childhood (early onset) and is an autoimmune condition; and Type 2, or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, which occurs in later life (late onset).
Sugar accumulates first in the blood, then in the urine. The patient experiences thirst, weight loss, and copious voiding, along with degenerative changes in the capillary system. Without treatment, the patient may go blind, ulcerate, lapse into diabetic coma, and die. Early-onset diabetes tends to be more severe than that developing in later years. Before the discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best, severe diabetics did not survive. Today, it is seldom fatal. Careful management of diabetes, including control of high blood pressure, can delay some of the serious complications associated with the condition, which include blindness, disease of the peripheral blood vessels and kidney failure. A continuous infusion of insulin can be provided via a catheter implanted under the skin, which is linked to an electric pump. This more accurately mimics the body's natural secretion of insulin than injections or oral doses, and can provide better control of diabetes. It can, however, be very dangerous i.
F the pump malfunctions. In 1989, it was estimated that 4% of the world's population had diabetes, and that there were 12 million sufferers in Canada and the US.
Much rarer, diabetes insipidus is due to a deficiency of a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland to regulate the body’s water balance. It is controlled by hormone therapy.
Insulin-secreting implants were trialled successfully in dogs 1993 using islet cells enclosed in gel capsules. The capsules were small enough to be injected by needle into the abdomen (peritoneal cavity), and functioned for six months. + prikaži više