HPR 205- Week 3 Discussion

Choose one of the CDC’s five most common chronic diseases (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, or arthritis) and describe the anatomical and physiological changes associated with the endocrine system. The chronic disease I chose is diabetes. Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder diagnosed in the United States. There are two types of diabetes, there is type 1 diabetes and then there is type 2 diabetes. When someone has diabetes, it affects how their body controls their blood glucose levels. Insulin helps to cut levels of blood glucose while glucagon's role is to increase blood glucose levels. When it comes down to diabetes, either your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or your body doesn’t respond well to insulin. “In type 1 diabetes, the body isn't able to produce enough insulin and so blood glucose becomes too high unless insulin is injected. In type 2 diabetes, the body is unable to respond effectively to insulin, which can also result in higher than normal blood glucose levels” (D., 2018). Describe normal function of the system and how the disease alters the normal function. The endocrine system has many organs that secrete a variety of chemical substances (Colbert, Ankney, & Lee, 2013). The endocrine system works in conjunction with the nervous system to regulate, and coordinate the activities of, the body’s tissues and organs (Ford, 2017). It consists of a collection of glands located in different parts of the body, but the main ones are the pituitary, pineal, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, pancreas, ovaries and testes (Ford, 2017). These glands produce a variety of blood-borne chemical signals called hormones, which play an essential role in maintaining balance (homoeostasis) in the body, helping to ensure that variables such as blood glucose and electrolytes are kept within normal ranges (Ford, 2017). Like I mentioned above, diabetes alters the normal function in the endocrine system by affecting how the body regulates blood glucose levels. When someone gets diabetes, their body does not function well, so it puts a strain on the body. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where some other part of the body's immune system attacks pancreatic cells, preventing them from producing insulin (Diabetes Info, 2018). List signs and symptoms tha