TYPE 1 DIABETES
INTRODUCTION-
India is considered the diabetes capital of the world. Type1 or childhood diabetes can turn fatal without proper insulin therapy. Many children are being diagnosed with type1 diabetes in India and it might be because the actual prevalence of the disorder is increasing.
TYPE 1 DIABETES-
- Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the pancreas completely stops producing insulin.
- Insulin is the hormone responsible for controlling the level of glucose in the blood by increasing/decreasing absorption to the liver, fat and other cells of the body.
- Type 1 diabetes is predominantly diagnosed in children and adolescents. Though the prevalence is less, it is much more severe than type 2.
- Children with type1 diabetes are usually present in the hospital, with severe symptoms of frequent urination and extreme thirst. Nearly 1/3rd of them have diabetic ketoacidosis
- Ketoacidosis- A serious condition where the body has a high concentration of ketones, a molecule produced when the body is not able to absorb glucose for energy and starts breaking down fats.
- There are over 10lakh children and adolescents living with type1 diabetes in the world.
- Of the 2.5 lakh people living with type 1 diabetes in India, almost 1lakh are under the age of 14 years.
- According to the Diabetes Atlas of the International Diabetes Federation, 7.7 crore people in India are diabetic.
Differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes-
| Type-1 diabetes | Type-2 diabetes |
| It is genetically inherited and shows up early in age. | It is mainly lifestyle related and develops over time. |
| People with this diabetes wont produce insulin. | They don't make enough insulin for glucose metabolism. |
| If they stop taking insulin, the condition will be fatal. | They can manage through pills. |
Risk of Type 1 diabetes-
- The exact cause of type1 diabetes is unknown, but it is thought to be an auto-immune condition where the body's immune system destroys the Islets of the pancreas that produce insulin.
- Genetic factors play a role in determining the occurrence of diabetes type 1.
- According to guidelines, the prevalence of genes called DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8 is 30-40% in patients with type1 diabetes as compared to 2.4% in the general population.
| The risk of the disease in a child is 3% when the mother has it, 5% when the father has it and 8% when a sibling has it. |
Evolution of treatment of type 1 diabetes-
- The guidelines provide details on diet, exercise, insulin monitoring, prevention and treatment of complications like retinopathy, kidney disease and nerve disease.
- The discovery of insulin helped children with the condition to survive. But they have to prick themselves to deliver insulin throughout their life.
- Researchers are now looking for a cure and there are some encouraging results from stem cell therapy to increase islets of the pancreas.
- Glucose monitoring devices and artificial pancreas are available now, but it may take a few years to make them available for treatment.
- Continuous glucose monitoring devices can help monitor the blood glucose levels for 24-hours with the help of a sensor.
- The artificial pancreas goes a step further and along with monitoring the levels, they can automatically deliver the insulin when needed.
- Modern glucometers, urine glucose monitoring was the norm before glucometers.
- Initially glucometers were painful, expensive and not so accurate.
EPILOGUE-
Cost considerations remain an issue in India. All thanks to better management, diabetic ketoacidosis is becoming less common, though in rural areas, and peripheral centres, it still remains a big problem.
source - https://indianexpress.com
