The term
diabetes includes several different metabolic disorders that all, if left untreated, result in abnormally high concentration of a sugar called glucose in the blood.
Diabetes mellitus type 1 results when the pancreas no longer produces significant amounts of the
hormone insulin, usually owing to the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta
cells of the pancreas.
Diabetes mellitus type 2, in contrast, is now thought to result from autoimmune attacks on the pancreas and/or insulin resistance. The pancreas of a person with type 2
diabetes may be producing normal or even abnormally large amounts of insulin. Other forms of
diabetes mellitus, such as the various forms of maturity onset
diabetes of the young, may represent some combination of insufficient insulin production and insulin resistance. Some degree of
insulin resistance may also be present in a person with type 1 diabetes.
Relevant Topics in General Science
