Unit 12A: Diseases and Infection, Section B case study
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Course
Unit 12 - Diseases and Infections
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This distinction- level assignment is based on section B of Unit 12 A from Applied Science. It is written around a chosen example- type 2 diabetes, where it discusses specific risk factors, characteristic features, biological mechanisms, short- term effects and the diseases' progressive ways in the...
Section B- Case Study
Type 2 diabetes is a non- infectious disease and long-term condition that occurs when their body
makes little insulin, this causes very high blood levels. Insulin is a hormone that is significant in terms
of human life; its job is to take glucose into our cells, to provide energy for our body. If you have type
2 diabetes, your body still breaks down the carbohydrates from your food and drink and turns into
glucose; the pancreas receives this signal and responds by releasing insulin. However, because of the
disease, insulin doesn’t work properly, which makes blood glucose levels rise; this causes even more
insulin to release from the pancreas. In some people, who have type 2 diabetes, this can
progressively over time, tire the pancreas, which makes the body slowly produce less insulin
overtime (Diabetes UK 2019).
Specific Risk factors which can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes
The development of type 2 diabetes can occur due to a whole combination of risk factors, for
example: genes and lifestyle, or family history and ethnicity. You cannot change nor do anything
about risk factors such as: age, ethnicity or family history. However, you can change lifestyle risk
factors such as; eating, physical activity and weight to reduce the risk, or to reduce the spread of
type 2 diabetes. Some genetic risk factors that may contribute to the development of type 2
diabetes include: a family history of diabetes, if a person is African American, American Indian,
Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian and if you have a history of heart disease, or stroke. Some
lifestyle risk factors, in which you could control, to avoid increased risk of type 2 diabetes are:
obesity, high blood pressure, depression and if a person is not physically active. Some ways in which
you could prevent the development of type 2 diabetes can be: eating a balance diet (eating fewer
calories), losing weight and being more physically active. Doing these steps can only deduce lifestyle
risk factors (NIDDK 2019).
Characteristic Features (symptoms) of the disease
Many people may not realise that they have type 2 diabetes because the disease doesn’t necessarily
make you ill, so experiencing the symptoms may feel normal or only slightly unusual, so symptoms
may be ignored. A list of symptoms a person, with type 2 diabetes, may experience is: urinating
more than usual (especially at the night), feeling thirst all the time, the loss of weight without trying
to, itching around the genital area (or repeatedly getting thrust), cuts/wounds that take longer to
heal and blurred vision. (NHS 2019).
The symptom of ‘increased thirst’ is caused by dehydration, which is caused by another symptom of
‘frequent urination’ that sufferers of type 2 diabetes may encounter. The frequent urination is
important as it is important for the body to remove the excess sugar in the blood, however this can
result in the body losing additional water. The excess sugar in the blood can damage the tiny blood
vessels in the eye; this causes blurry vision which can occur in only one of the eyes, or both. A person
with type 2 diabetes may realise that even the smallest cuts or wounds can take much longer,
weeks, to heal than usual. This is because the high levels of sugar can damage the body’s nerves and
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blood vessels, which impair blood circulation. On a serious note, the slow healing of cuts/wounds
increases risk of infection (Medical News Today).
The Specific Biological Mechanisms of the Disease
Diabetes mellitus is a series of metabolic conditions that causes deflects in insulin secretion or in
insulin action; it is often associated with hyperglycaemia and occurs when the body cannot regulate
the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Along with genitive and environmental factors, insulin
resistance and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction are the ones to blame for the start of type 2 diabetes.
When β cells are no longer able to produce enough insulin to overcome the obstacle of insulin
resistance, the impaired glucose intolerance progresses to become type 2 diabetes. Abnormalities
(reduced insulin secretion) in hormones such as incertin glucose-like peptide 1 and
hyperglucaganemia (excess glucose secretion) (Medscape 2019), also contribute to insulin resistance
and hyper glycaemia in type 2 diabetes. Factors such as obesity and being overweight, contribute to
insulin resistance in a way where there is an imbalance in the concentration of hormones: increased
leptin, reduced adiponectin and increased glucagon. Also, patients with type 2 diabetes have a
pancreatic a-cell dysfunction, which can trigger increased glycogen secretion, when hyperglycaemia
is involved (International Journal of Drug Development Research 2019).
The Short- term Effects of Type 2 Diabetes on the Different Body Systems
Type 2 diabetes is a non- infectious disease, which we can easily ignore, however the disease should
be given closer attention to, especially as its victims are increasing in number and having only
affected elderly people before, the disease is now infecting middle- aged and young people. Body
systems which may be affected by type 2 diabetes are many of the major organs such as: the heart,
the blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys (Mayo Clinic 2019). Short-term complications of the
disease of type 2 diabetes includes: hypoglycaemia (a condition caused by a very low level of glucose
in the body’s main energy store; treatment is necessary and is done by doing quick steps, which
involves consumption of high-sugar foods/drinks) (Mayo Clinic 2019) and hyperosmolar
hyperglycaemic nonketotic syndrome (HHNS) (Endocrine Web 2019). HNNS is a complication that
can be life-threatening for people who have type 2 diabetes and occurs if the disease is
uncontrolled. The complication is observed in elderly patients who have non- insulin dependent
diabetes mellitus (diabetes) and is rarely seen in younger patient (Pub Med. Gov 1989).
Ways in Which the Disease Progresses Over Time and How This Affects Organs And
Body systems
Long- term conditions of the disease are the result of type 2 diabetes progressing over time;
although they develop gradually, they can be disabling or life-threatening. A potential complication
is heart and blood vessel disease. This is a result of diabetes, in general, creating significant risk of
stroke, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, which is the narrowing of blood vessels. Another
complication is neuropathy, also known as nerve damage. This is when excess sugar causes: tingling,
numbness, burning and pain. These symptoms occur at the tip of toes and fingers and gradually
spread north of the body. You can lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. If the nerves that
control indigestion get damaged as a result of type 2 diabetes, it can cause problems associated
with: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation. Moreover, males can have the problem of
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