Introduction
Scientists and researchers have been documenting the condition now known as Diabetes for thousands of years. From the origins of its discovery to breakthroughs in its treatment, many minds, some brilliant, others not so much, have played a part in the history of Diabetes. Diabetes has two different main forms, Diabetes Mellitus Type I and Diabetes Mellitus Type II, and also has three other less common forms, Gestational Diabetes, NeoNatal Diabetes and Maturity onset Diabetes of the young. In this literature review I am going to convey the importance of continuing research in finding a cure and/or better forms of treatment for Diabetes Mellitus and also give a history of Diabetes and an explanation of what the disease is and how it affects its victims.
Historical Background
The first known case of symptoms related to Diabetes was in 1552 B.C., when an Egyptian physician, Hesy-Ra, documented frequent urination as a symptom of a mysterious disease that also caused the victim to be abnormally thin or weak. Also around this time, ancient healers noted that ants seemed to be attracted to the urine of the people who had the disease.
In 150 AD, Aretaeus, a Greek physician, described what we now know as Diabetes to be "the melting down of flesh and limbs into urine." After this, researchers began to gain a better understanding of Diabetes.
Hundreds of years later, people known as the "water tasters" were able to diagnose Diabetes by tasting the urine of people suspected to have it. If their urine tasted sweet, the patient was diagnosed with Diabetes. To acknowledge this, in 1675 the word "mellitus," meaning honey, was added to the name "Diabetes," meaning siphon. It wasn't until the 1800s that scientists developed chemical t...
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...hers were able to reduce insulin injections by 55 percent for one of the monkey’s. The other monkey still required injections, but the amount needed gradually declined over time.
Conclusion
“Diabetes currently affects more than 371 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 552 million by 2030. In the U.S., a new case of diabetes is diagnosed every 30 seconds; more than 1.9 million people are diagnosed each year.” (JDRF, n.d.). As you can tell from this statistic, Diabetes is and has been a growing problem. As technology continues to improve I believe that the medical field will grow with it. We can only go as far as technology, thats why we must continue to work to improve technology. I foresee a cure for diabetes in the distant future, but for now research is leading to more and more effective ways of treating both Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes.
Glucose is a sugar that plays a big part in a human’s health and well-being. This sugar is a major source of energy for the body’s brain and cells. The Cells that receive energy from glucose help in the building of the body’s muscle and tissue. Although glucose may be important to the body too much of this sugar can cause a chronic condition called Diabetes. Diabetes, also known as Diabetes mellitus, is a chronic condition that is caused by too much sugar in the blood. This condition can affect all age groups. In fact, in 2010 a survey was taken by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, on the number of newly diagnosed diabetes. Out of 1,907,000 people: 24.38% were ages 20-44, 55.17% were ages 45-64, and 20.45% were ages 65 and greater. Diabetes is a very serious condition, and it can be deadly if left untreated. This paper will help better educate the reader on the signs and symptoms, the testing process, and the management of diabetes.
During the year 1889, two researchers, Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, discovered the disease that is known today as diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the insulin levels (a hormone produced in unique cells called the islets of Langerhans found in the pancreas) in the bloodstream are irregular and therefore affect the way the body uses sugars, as well as other nutrients. Up until the 1920’s, it was known that being diagnosed with diabetes was a death sentence which usually affected “children and adults under 30.” Those who were diagnosed were usually very hungry and thirsty, which are two of the symptoms associated with diabetes. However, no matter how much they ate, their bodies wouldn’t be able to use the nutrients due to the lack of insulin.
Insulin: a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use. Insulin helps keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia). Before insulin Diabetes mellitus was a chronic disease that affected thousands of people in Canada and beyond. In the first half of the 20th century, medical professionals understood that diabetes mellitus involved the body’s inability to metabolize food, especially carbohydrates. “Insuline” was already in development as many medical professionals like Joseph Freiherr and Oscar Minkowski, isolated its properties before Banting had his ideas. As well Ancient Greek
One of the greatest medical milestones in history discovered in the 1920s was insulin. Diabetes is commonly known as a relatively harmless condition in today’s era, however before insulin was discovered, it was lethal. Insulin is a substance which the pancreas produces to break down food, this effects the blood glucose levels (Wikispaces.com). Diabetes is when the body is unable to produce the required amount by itself, thus building up the glucose in the blood (Wikispaces). A few symptoms caused by diabetes are damage to the nerves, blurred vision and muscle cramps (Wikispaces.com). In 1922, Frederick Banting and his research assistant Charles Best isolated insulin and successfully lowered a dog’s blood sugar (glucose) level (About.com). Once the insulin was prepared for human u...
By the 1920s, diabetes was considered a global epidemic, affecting people across the globe. Scientists unanimously agreed that diabetes was “the failure of the pancreas to secrete enough of a certain mysterious substance necessary for the proper utilization of carbohydrates as a body fuel.”2 This had stumped scientists for years, and no sufficient cure or treatment had been found. However, in 1921, Toronto doctor Frederick Banting, assisted by J. Macleod, Charles Best, and Dr. J.B Collip successfully created insulin, which was subsequently tested on dogs with diabetes before experimenting on the first human, Leonard Thompson in
World Health Organization. (1965). Diabetes Mellitus: Report of a WHO Expert Committee (Technical Report 310). Retrieved from : http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_310.pdf
When the blood glucose is higher than the normal levels, this is known as diabetes disease. The body turns the food we eat into glucose or sugar and use it for energy. The insulin is a hormone created by the pancreas to help the glucose get into the cells. The sugar builds up in the blood because either the body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t well use its own insulin (CDC, 2015). In the United States diabetes is known as the seventh leading cause of death. There are different types of diabetes. However, there are two main types of diabetes and these are; Diabetes type 1 and Diabetes type 2 (CDC, 2015).
Diabetes is a disease that is very common in the world. Early detection of diabetes can significantly decrease the risk of it getting worse throughout a person’s life. There are symptom...
4)Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) (AndreasSchmitt,AnnikaGahr,Norbert Hermanns, Bernhard Kulzer,Jorg Huber and Thomas Haak 2013,Health and Quality of Life Outcomes).
Diabetes: Causes and Effects Have you ever been feeling tired and listless lately? Do you have a persistent need to drink fluids all the time? Have you been losing or gaining an enormous amount of weight lately? In 1999, I began to feel very weak while taking a shower one day. I started to feel symptoms that made me think I was having another stroke; however, when ambulance arrived, one of the technicians knew that it was diabetes and not a stroke.
According to Krisha McCoy on her article: The history of Diabetes; “In 150 AD, the Greek physician Arateus described what we now call diabetes as "the melting down of flesh and limbs into urine." From then on, physicians began to gain a better understanding about diabetes. Centuries later, people known as "water tasters" diagnosed diabetes by tasting the urine of people suspected to have it. If urine tasted sweet, diabetes was diagnosed. To acknowledge this feature, in 1675 the word "mellitus," meaning honey, was added to the name "diabetes," meaning siphon. It wasn't until the 1800s that scientists developed chemical tests to detect the presence of sugar in the urine”.
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders which is characterized by hyperglycemia due to insulin deficiency or resistance or both reasons. (1) According to that diabetes mellitus can be divided as type I and type II. This is common and its incidence is rising, 171 million people had diabetes in 2000 it is expected this condition to be doubled in 2030. It is spread in all the countries and therefore has become a major burden upon healthcare facilities. (2)
Diabetes type 2 occurs when the body produces too little insulin or is unable to use the insulin correctly. (Jen Grogan and Ruth Suter 2008 p. 2.1.13) Diabetes is a chronic disease where there are high levels of glucose in the blood as it cannot leave the bloodstream and cannot enter cells without the assistance of insulin. (Jen Grogan and Ruth Suter 2008 p. 2.1.9)
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body’s tissues absorb glucose which is sugar, so it can be used as a source of energy. Glucose levels build up in the blood and urine which causes excessive urination, thirst, hunger, and problems with fat and protein metabolism in a diabetic person. Diabetes is very common in the United States; it is the seventh leading cause of all deaths. Women have been diagnosed with diabetes more than men. There are two forms of diabetes, Type one and Type two diabetes. Type one diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin or produces it in very small quantities. This usually occurs in younger people under twenty years of age, mostly around puberty. Type two diabetes is when the body’s balance between insulin production and the ability of cells to use insulin doesn’t work properly. This is more common than type one; about 90-95% people in the United States have it. There are no cures for diabetes now but there are many researchers investigating factors through new technologies to cure them. Meanwhile, technological advancements are being made to keep glucose at a good level for diabetes.
In conclusion, diabetes is a serious disease and can be life threatening. With the right research and implementation of new studies diabetes can be reduced among the populations. We as a people need to realize this epidemic and all get together and beat it. Restaurants need to stop putting chemicals and unnecessary fats in their food. Not only diabetics but everyone should educate themselves on what is going in your body when you eat. Also, exercising and getting off the couch, in children, needs to be addressed and that alone would help reduce diabetes in the younger population. I can’t stress enough on education. If you know what you are eating or how you are exercising you protect yourself from poor health and live a great life. Type 2 diabetes can be dwindled down with a conscious individual and group effort.