Diabetes mellitus is an actual widespread disease. “Diabetes,” as it is popularly known, forces around six million people in Germany to seek treatment. This disorder is triggered by a lack of insulin, which can have a variety of causes. The sugar is excreted in the urine. Hence the name, which translated from Greek and Latin, means “honey-sweet flow.”
Diabetes mellitus can be subdivided into several types, which have in common a high blood sugar or hyperglycemia in those affected when they first occur. Other specific forms occur less frequently and are often classified as type 3 diabetes.
Diabetes type 1
In patients with type 1 diabetes, blood sugar levels can only be regulated by external insulin. For this reason, people with diabetes need to take insulin through an insulin pump or inject insulin several times a day. The current study distinguishes between her two subtypes within the category of type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 is insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). Here the own immune system destroys cells of the pancreas (beta cells). The beta cells produce insulin, which prevents a malfunction of the metabolism. If these cells are wholly or partially destroyed, no more insulin is produced. Thus, the control of the metabolism by insulin is suspended.
Type 2 diabetes
In type 2 diabetes, increased insulin resistance and a relative insulin deficiency often come together. 143 So-called insulin resistance is characterized by the fact that the body cells no longer respond adequately to insulin in this form of diabetes mellitus. As a result, the cells take up too little glucose, which leads to an increase in blood sugar levels. The body often tries to compensate for this disorder by overproducing insulin, leading to increased insulin levels in the blood.
Insulin resistance means that the amount of insulin in the body of those affected is no longer sufficient to regulate the blood sugar level effectively. In response, the beta cells in the pancreas try to compensate for the increased blood sugar level by increasing the production of insulin. This constant stress on the beta cells in the pancreas manifests itself in the further course of the disease is progressive exhaustion of the beta cells.
Gestational diabetes
The hormonal changes due to pregnancy cause the affected women to become insulin resistant, leading to an increased need for insulin. Often the mother’s pancreas can compensate for the high demand for insulin so that the blood sugar level does not rise measurably. In 5 to 10 percent of all pregnancies, however, the mother’s pancreas cannot do this, and the increased glucose levels lead to gestational diabetes.
Type 3 diabetes
Type 3 diabetes is the generic term for various rare forms of diabetes mellitus that cannot be assigned to type 1 or type 2 diabetes. These forms occur far less frequently but are also associated with a chronic increase in glucose levels and an increased risk of severe concomitant and secondary diseases. 143
Type 3 diabetes includes the following subtypes: 159
Type 3a diabetes: also known as MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young); caused mainly by a genetic defect in the insulin-producing beta cells
Type 3b diabetes: caused by a genetic defect that affects how insulin works
Type 3c diabetes: caused by a disease of the exocrine pancreas
Type 3d diabetes: caused by diseases or disorders of the hormone metabolism
Type 3e diabetes: caused by medication, drugs, or certain chemicals
Type 3f diabetes: caused by infections such as rubella or the cytomegalovirus
Type 3g diabetes: caused by autoimmune diseases
Type 3h diabetes: caused by specific genetic syndromes