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Summary - A2 Unit F214 - Communication, Homeostasis and Energy - diabetes
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Summary of the types of diabetes, treatment option, and testing. Homework piece and was marked highly
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Type 1 Type 2Beta cells do not produce insulin Body’s receptors become insensitive to insulin, therefore
less glucose is absorbed
Cannot be prevented or cured as the cause is unknown Usually a result of poor diet and lack of exercise.
Evidence suggests it may be autoimmune Symptoms are similar to type 1, however they’re less
severe.
Begins to develop during childhood. Risk of developing increases with age.
Treatment is insulin injections. Family history could impact chances of getting type 2
diabetes.
Insulin for injections has been made from genetically By adjusting life style choices, the effect of diabetes can be
modified bacteria. limited.
Blood glucose needs to tested regularly so the dose of If the illness is more developed, medications can be taken
insulin can be calculated. Too much can lead to to control blood sugar levels.
hypoglycaemia and too little can lead to hyperglycaemia.
DIABETES:
>> SOURCE OF INSULIN PRODUCTION:
Insulin was originally obtained from the pancreas of cows and pigs. However, this process was
expensive and also caused allergic reactions with humans as the insulin differed slightly. There were
also many ethical issues with this method. Therefore, through identifying the DNA sequence for
insulin, we have been able to genetically modify bacteria. This has meant that insulin can be
produced in much higher quantities and is also much cheaper. The risk of allergic reaction with
humans was also minimised.
>> USE OF STEM CELLS:
The demand for pancreas transplants far outweighs the availability. Therefore, researchers have
been looking for alternative treatment. Stem cells would be more effective and therefore could be
considered an alternative treatment to transplants. However, the best stem cells for this cause come
from embryonic stem cells. Stem cells from a small number of embryos can be used to treat many
patients. They would be much more effective as donor availability wouldn’t be an issue, there is a
reduced chance of rejection and patients would no longer need to inject themselves with insulin.
However, continuous growth of these cells could result in tumours forming and the ability to control
growth and differentiation is limited.
>> FPG OR hbA 1C
FPG is a blood test which measure your blood sugar levels at one given time. Most commonly done
in the morning when you have fasted for at least 8 hours. If your normal fasting blood glucose
concentration is above 100 mg/dm3 it suggests diabetes is present. The hbA1C is an important blood
test that gives a good indication as to how your diabetes are being controlled. This works by a blood
sample being taken from the patient and is used to produce a reading. This tests how many of your
red blood cells have been glycated. The more cells that have been glycated, the higher the hba1c
reading. A 6% hba1c test means the patient is non-diabetic. 6-6.4% is prediabetic and 6.5% or above
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