Diabetes of any type occurs when glucose is not fully or partially absorbed by the body, which can have many unpleasant and sometimes irreversible consequences. Under normal circumstances, once glucose is present in the blood, the pancreas (PZH) automatically releases the hormone insulin into the blood, which is used by the body's cells to "absorb" the sugar. In people with diabetes, this process is interrupted for a variety of reasons.
type 1 diabetes
Typically, type 1 diabetes occurs in early childhood and adolescence. The pancreas stops producing insulin because the beta cells of the insulin-producing "islets" die completely or partially. According to scientists, sometimes clinical type 1 diabetes begins after a severe viral infection, and an error in the immune system is to blame for this "failure. "
Some dangerous viruses are structurally very similar to pancreatic beta cells, and the immune system works with foreign viruses to destroy them. Insulin-producing cells are impossible to restore, so for diabetics, the only way to improve metabolism is to control blood sugar levels throughout life and give insulin in a timely manner.
type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes usually occurs in adulthood and old age. Many times its occurrence is associated with obesity, although sometimes it is also associated with genetic predisposition and after taking certain medications. Type 2 diabetes can develop in the context of chronic disease of the pancreas or during pregnancy. Even if the pancreas in these patients produces enough insulin, it is slower than needed. Therefore, the cells don't have time to use all the glucose, and its levels rise.
A second cause of elevated blood sugar in type 2 diabetes is reduced tissue sensitivity to the hormone insulin. Doctors call this disease "insulin resistance. "In short, they lack the normal amount of fat, which is mostly associated with obesity.
gestational diabetes
One type of type 2 diabetes is gestational diabetes or gestational diabetes. A pregnant woman's pancreas produces normal amounts of insulin, but the tissue is less sensitive to it due to the presence of "pregnancy hormone" in the blood. It usually occurs at 20-24 weeks and continues until delivery, after which the metabolism improves on its own. However, sometimes, under the guise of gestational diabetes, DM 1 begins, and in the context of pregnancy, DM 2 also arises without the woman suspecting its existence.