Diabetes in Brief

Diabetes, a disease in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or is not able to use the insulin it does produce, occurs in two major types. Type 2 diabetes, associated with psychiatric illness and taking psychoactive medications, is easily distinguishable from the more severe form, type 1.

According to the American Diabetes Association, type 2, the most common form of diabetes, has a later onset (type 2 is often referred to as “adult onset”), and results from the body’s inability to produce adequate amounts of insulin or the inability of cells to use the insulin to transport glucose out of the blood and into the cells for fuel. When glucose builds up in the blood, two things occur: cells begin to starve for energy, and over time cellular damage occurs, commonly in the heart, kidneys, eyes, and peripheral nervous system.

Type 2 diabetes often responds to changes in diet, a program of regular exercise, and weight loss. In addition, medications that boost insulin production as well as decrease insulin resistance are available. Rarely, in more progressive type-2 disease, insulin injections may become necessary.

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and adolescents and has been commonly referred to as “juvenile-onset diabetes.” Type 1 results from a failure of the pancreas to secrete insulin. Current consensus regards Type 1 as an autoimmune disorder in which the person’s immune system attacks and obliterates the beta cells within the pancreas that produce insulin. Patients with type 1 must rely on strict meal planning, exercise, and regular insulin injections to keep blood glucose levels from fluctuating wildly.