Diabetes and its forms
Written by:Too often we hear about friends and family members of diabetes, each with his own opinion about it. What is really diabetes? Answers Prof. Marco Comaschi, expert in Endocrinology in Genoa
What is diabetes?
To understand what diabetes is, we think of our body as if it were a car that needs gasoline in order to function, move and live: our gasoline is food, while the engine that consumes it is the cells of the entire organism . The food contains in fact several elements, such as proteins, fats and sugars, which allow to produce energy. In particular, sugars are considered a "super" energy source, especially glucose, a very simple sugar that is absorbed by the intestine, dissolved in the blood and absorbed by each cell in order to produce energy. This absorption mechanism begins with the passage of glucose through a "door" called Glut4 which can only be opened in the presence of a hormone, insulin. This is produced by a gland in the pancreas only when the amounts of glucose are only elevated, for example after a meal. When this mechanism does not work, diabetes develops. It is possible to divide diabetes into three forms:
Type 1 diabetes
It represents about 10% of all cases of diabetes and occurs when the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, due to an inflammation, die and are no longer able to produce it. The famous "door" Glut4 is not then opened and all the glucose that should be burned, remains in high quantities in the blood. The solution consists in replacing this hormone from the outside, with insulin injections that thus maintain the function of the body's cells. This form of diabetes is called "juvenile diabetes" because, in most cases, it develops in infancy or developmental age, or "skinny diabetes" because of the severe weight loss that affects those who are affected. Weight loss is due to the fact that, in the absence of sugars to be burned, the body uses a secondary energy source, ie the reserve fats, which are thus consumed quickly. The inflammation that affects the cells of the pancreas is due to a genetic error caused by the organism, which does not recognize the cells as its own and begins to reject them. So diabetes is not inherited in itself, but the tendency to develop antibodies against your body, called autoimmunity.
Type 2 diabetes
It is the most common type of diabetes. In these subjects the insulin produced by the pancreas finds it difficult to act well and is defined as "insulin resistance". Because of particular genetic and hereditary causes, fats tend to accumulate in the abdomen, thus causing insulin to malfunction. Glucose has difficulty burning, causing the body to produce more and more insulin, until the pancreas cells are no longer able to meet the needs. This type of diabetes is known as "adult diabetes" because it usually appears after age 40, although in countries with a high percentage of obesity, it is starting to show up at an early age.
Gestational diabetes
It appears only during pregnancy, without presenting any symptoms. It is diagnosed during the classic tests performed during gestation and, once discovered, it is important that the future mother perform a specific diabetes diagnosis test because it can be dangerous for the fetus, both for the high risk of abortion, both for the possible birth malformations. In most cases, gestational diabetes disappears after delivery, although the probability of becoming diabetic is high.