Diabetes is a disease in which the body is unable to properly use and store glucose which backs up in the bloodstream, causing the blood glucose (or blood sugar) to rise too high.
There are two major types of diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes the body completely stops producing any insulin, the hormone that enables the body to use glucose found in foods for energy. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. This form of diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can occur at any age. Type 2 diabetes results when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin and/or is unable to use insulin properly. This form of diabetes usually occurs in people over 40, who are overweight and have a family history of diabetes. (Today it is increasingly occurring in younger people, particularly adolescents.)
In some cases, there are no symptoms. In this case, people can live for months, even years, without knowing they have the disease. This form of diabetes comes on so gradually that symptoms may not even be recognized.
Who is Susceptible
Diabetes can occur in anyone; however, people who have close relatives with the disease are more likely to develop it. Other risk factors include obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity. The risk of developing diabetes also increases as people grow older. Diabetes is more common among Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Also, people who develop diabetes while pregnant (a condition called gestational diabetes) are more likely to develop full-blown diabetes later in life.
Diabetes Treatments
There are certain things that everyone who has diabetes, whether type 1 or type 2, needs to do to be healthy. They need to have a meal (eating) plan and pay attention to how much physical activity they engage in. (Physical activity can help the body use insulin better so it can convert glucose into energy for cells.) Everyone with type 1 diabetes, and some people with type 2 diabetes, also need to take insulin injections. Some people with type 2 diabetes take pills called “oral agents” which help their bodies produce more insulin and/or use the insulin it is producing better. Some people with type 2 diabetes can manage their disease without medication by appropriate meal planning and adequate physical activity.
Research volunteers are essential to a better understanding of treatments for diabetes. Volunteers contribute to helping research on diabetes by assessing the efficacy of existing treatments and evaluating new, less risky and more effective treatments. High Point Clinical Trials Center (formerly Mendenhall Research Center) has extensive experience in diabetes research and reaches out to these valuable volunteers to help lead the way.
Symptoms of Diabetes
People with diabetes frequently experience some of the following symptoms:
• being very thirsty
• frequent urination
• weight loss
• increased hunger
• blurry vision
• irritability
• tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
• frequent skin, bladder or gum infections
• wounds that don’t heal
• extreme unexplained fatigue
In some cases, there are no symptoms. People can live for months, even years, without knowing they have the disease. This form of diabetes comes on so gradually that symptoms may not even be recognized.