About Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Most of the people with diabetes in the United States have type 2 diabetes, and it is on the rise, especially in younger people. More preteens, teens, and young adults are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than ever before. Causes Like type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is inherited. This means a group of genes that can lead to type 2 is passed down from mothers and fathers to their children. Not everyone who inherits the genes will develop it, but if you have the genes for type 2 diabetes, you've got a greater chance of developing it. Your chances are even higher if you're also overweight and don't get much exercise. Having a sweet tooth won't cause type 2 diabetes, but a diet high in simple sugars and other unhealthy foods can cause you to gain weight. Most people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight. In addition to being overweight, there are some other factors that put a person at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, including: Having a family history of diabetes. Being older than 40. Having gestational diabetes during a pregnancy. Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds. Being African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American. Insulin Resistance and Impaired Fasting Glucose Insulin resistance is when cells have trouble using insulin. The cells resist insulin's message to open up, and don't work as fast to let the sugar in. When this happens, the pancreas works harder to make more insulin, which it releases into the blood to keep blood sugar levels normal. Insulin resistance can lead to a condition called impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. This happens when the pancreas can't make enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels in a normal Continue reading >>
Could Diabetes Spread Like Mad Cow Disease?
Prions are insidious proteins that spread like infectious agents and trigger fatal conditions such as mad cow disease. A protein implicated in diabetes, a new study suggests, shares some similarities with these villains. Researchers transmitted diabetes from one mouse to another just by injecting the animals with this protein. The results don’t indicate that diabetes is contagious like a cold, but blood transfusions, or even food, may spread the disease. The work is “very exciting” and “well-documented” for showing that the protein has some prionlike behavior, says prion biologist Witold Surewicz of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, who wasn’t connected to the research. However, he cautions against jumping to the conclusion that diabetes spreads from person to person. The study raises that possibility, he says, but “it remains to be determined.” Prions are misfolded proteins that can cause normally folded versions of the same protein to misfold themselves. When this conversion occurs in the brain, the distorted proteins bunch up inside cells and kill them. Although prion diseases are rare in people, they share some similarities with more common illnesses. In Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, globs of a misshapen protein known as β amyloid build up in the brain. Parkinson’s disease and Huntington disease, two other brain maladies, also feature aggregates, or lumps of misfolded proteins. Get more great content like this delivered right to you! By signing up, you agree to share your email address with the publication. Information provided here is subject to Science's privacy policy. At first glance, type 2 diabetes, in which people lose the ability to control their blood glucose levels, doesn’t seem to have any connection to prions Continue reading >>
Transmission Of A Protein Could Cause Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be induced following the transmission of a misfolded type of protein, according to new research. US researchers have reported a type of pancreatic protein is capable of inducing lost beta cell function and elevated blood glucose levels, both symptoms of type 2 diabetes. The study also found some similarities to a form of diseases known as prion diseases, which include Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. "Until now, this concept has not been considered," said study author Claudio Soto, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Soto stressed, however, that there is no strong evidence to suggest type 2 diabetes is an infectious condition. Over 90 per cent of people with type 2 diabetes have abnormal protein deposits in their insulin-producing pancreatic islets. These deposits mainly consist of aggregates of a particular protein: islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). While type 2 diabetes is linked to genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors, its cause is not wholly understood. Similarly, the precise role of IAPP in type 2 diabetes is unclear. The researchers hypothesise that IAPP kills pancreatic islets in a similar way to diseases caused by other misfolded protein aggregates, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's. When a protein becomes misfolded its structure changes which prevents it from functioning as expected. Soto and colleagues found that injecting small amounts of misfolded IAPP aggregated the formation of protein deposits in the pancreases of mice. Within weeks these mice developed type 2 diabetes symptoms. They believe small amounts of misfolded IAPP could induce similar levels of deposits of protein aggregates in pancreatic islets Continue reading >>
New Study Finds Type 2 Diabetes May Be Transmissible
New research suggests that type 2 diabetes might be transmissible and spread from person to person, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Type 2 Diabetes The pancreas produces insulin, a hormone, to convert glucose (also called blood sugar) into energy. People with diabetes can’t produce enough insulin or their body doesn’t respond to insulin, and typically must monitor blood sugar levels and inject insulin into the body periodically. Type 2 diabetes–the most common form of diabetes, is also called adult-onset diabetes, which means it was acquired. More than 420 million people worldwide have type 2 diabetes, and its causes remain largely unknown. It has been linked to being overweight and/or consuming too much glucose, but not everyone that is overweight and over consuming sugar gets the disease. The new study performed by researchers at the University Houston has found that type 2 diabetes shares similarities with a group of transmissible neurodegenerative diseases known as “prion diseases.” “Mad Cow” and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Connection Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE’s), are a group of progressive neurodegenerative conditions–the most notorious being the so-called “mad cow disease” and the human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It has been known that up to 80 percent of all people with type 2 diabetes also have an accumulation of what are called misfolded islet amyloid polypeptide proteins (IAPP). IAPP cells grow in a process called folding, and it is thought that misfolded IAPP damages the beta cells in the pancreas such that they impair the body’s ability to produce insulin needed to lower blood sugar levels. Misfolded prion proteins also are suspected to be the causes of Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs mostly in people aged over 40 years. However, an increasing number of younger people, even children, are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The first-line treatment is diet, weight control and physical activity. If the blood sugar (glucose) level remains high despite these measures then tablets to reduce the blood glucose level are usually advised. Insulin injections are needed in some cases. Other treatments include reducing blood pressure if it is high, lowering high cholesterol levels and also using other measures to reduce the risk of complications. Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can be treated successfully. If a high blood sugar level is brought down to a normal level, your symptoms will ease. You still have some risk of complications in the long term if your blood glucose level remains even mildly high - even if you have no symptoms in the short term. However, studies have shown that people who have better glucose control have fewer complications (such as heart disease or eye problems) compared with those people who have poorer control of their glucose level. Therefore, the main aims of treatment are: To keep your blood glucose level as near normal as possible. To reduce any other risk factors that may increase your risk of developing complications. In particular, to lower your blood pressure if it is high and to keep your blood lipids (cholesterol) low. To detect any complications as early as possible. Treatment can prevent or delay some complications from becoming worse. Type 2 diabetes is usually initially treated by following a healthy diet, losing weight if you are overweight, and having regular physical activity. If lifestyle advice does not control your blood sugar (glucose) levels then medicines are used to help lower your Continue reading >>
How Does Diabetes Spread?
Toll of diabetes affected has been increasing at an exponential rate. Diabetes is spread by deregulated processes within the body, and is not contagious in any case. Individuals in Type 1 diabetic condition are unable to produce any insulin in their bodies, whereas Type 2 diabetes patients have resistance for its utilization within the body. Untreated insulin resistance leads to diabetes. The likelihood of getting diabetes becomes more when some of the organs respond slowly or stop responding due to damaged blood vessels. This leads to hardening of the arteries, which increases chances of a heart attack and stroke besides restricting streamlined circulation of blood within brain as well as heart. Effect of high blood sugar Sugar in the blood is moderated by insulin. In the process of digestion, insulin moves glucose into the cells where it gets broken down for energy. In the diabetic condition, body becomes unresponsive to insulin, with inability to utilise glucose. Blood sugar becomes too high and restricts conversion of food into energy. Thereafter, increased sugar in blood starves cells for energy. Ballooning of blood vessels due to inadequate blood circulation can cause severe complications to eyes and kidneys, and damage could be permanent. Moreover, weak arteries due to high blood sugar can also impact nerves. All in all, high blood sugar levels due to uncontrolled diabetes influence every mechanism of body. Sugar in blood damages blood vessels throughout the body by getting attached to proteins. Due to this, structure of the blood vessels gets weakened as they become thick and hard. Risk factors With increased number of diabetes cases over the years, risk factors to develop diabetes have also increased. Among most identified factors causing diabetes are obesity, Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes: What Is It?
There are two major types of diabetes, but they don't have very exciting names. They're called type 1 and type 2. Let's find out about type 2 diabetes (say: dye-uh-BEE-tees), a health problem that affects kids and adults. Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body uses glucose (say: GLOO-kose), a sugar that is the body's main source of fuel. Your body needs glucose to keep running. Here's how it should work: Glucose from the food gets into your bloodstream. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin (say: IN-suh-lin). Insulin helps the glucose get into the body's cells. The pancreas is a long, flat gland in your belly that helps your body digest food. It also makes insulin. Insulin is kind of like a key that opens the doors to the cells of the body. It lets the glucose in. Then the glucose can move out of the blood and into the cells. But if someone has diabetes, the body either can't make insulin or the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should. The glucose can't get into the cells normally, so the blood sugar level gets too high. Lots of sugar in the blood makes people sick if they don't get treatment. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes cause high blood sugar levels in different ways. In type 1 diabetes , the pancreas can't make insulin. The body can still get glucose from food. But the glucose can't get into the cells, where it's needed. Glucose stays in the blood. This makes the blood sugar level very high. Type 2 diabetes is different. With type 2, the pancreas still makes insulin. But the insulin doesn't do its job as well in the body. Glucose just hangs around and builds up in the blood. The pancreas makes even more insulin to get glucose to go into the cells, but eventually gets worn out from working so hard. As a result, the blood sugar levels rise too hi Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Caused By Genetics?
Diabetes is a complex condition. Several factors must come together for you to develop type 2 diabetes. For example, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle play a role. Genetics can also influence whether you’ll get this disease. If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there’s a good chance that you’re not the first person with diabetes in your family. According to the American Diabetes Association, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes is: 1 in 7 if one of your parents was diagnosed before the age of 50 1 in 13 if one of your parents was diagnosed after the age of 50 1 in 2, or 50 percent, if both your parents have diabetes Several gene mutations have been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. These gene mutations can interact with the environment and each other to further increase your risk. Type 2 diabetes is caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Scientists have linked several gene mutations to a higher diabetes risk. Not everyone who carries a mutation will get diabetes. But many people with diabetes do have one or more of these mutations. It can be difficult to separate genetic risk from environmental risk. The latter is often influenced by your family members. For example, parents with healthy eating habits are likely to pass them on to the next generation. On the other hand, genetics plays a big part in determining weight. Sometimes behaviors can’t take all the blame. Studies of twins suggest that type 2 diabetes might be linked to genetics. These studies were complicated by the environmental influences that also affect type 2 diabetes risk. To date, numerous mutations have been shown to affect type 2 diabetes risk. The contribution of each gene is generally small. However, each additional mutation you have seems to increase your Continue reading >>
Articles Ontype 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a life-long disease that affects the way your body handles glucose, a kind of sugar, in your blood. Most people with the condition have type 2. There are about 27 million people in the U.S. with it. Another 86 million have prediabetes: Their blood glucose is not normal, but not high enough to be diabetes yet. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin. It's what lets your cells turn glucose from the food you eat into energy. People with type 2 diabetes make insulin, but their cells don't use it as well as they should. Doctors call this insulin resistance. At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to try to get glucose into the cells. But eventually it can't keep up, and the sugar builds up in your blood instead. Usually a combination of things cause type 2 diabetes, including: Genes. Scientists have found different bits of DNA that affect how your body makes insulin. Extra weight. Being overweight or obese can cause insulin resistance, especially if you carry your extra pounds around the middle. Now type 2 diabetes affects kids and teens as well as adults, mainly because of childhood obesity. Metabolic syndrome. People with insulin resistance often have a group of conditions including high blood glucose, extra fat around the waist, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol and triglycerides. Too much glucose from your liver. When your blood sugar is low, your liver makes and sends out glucose. After you eat, your blood sugar goes up, and usually the liver will slow down and store its glucose for later. But some people's livers don't. They keep cranking out sugar. Bad communication between cells. Sometimes cells send the wrong signals or don't pick up messages correctly. When these problems affect how your cells make and use insulin or glucose, a chain reac Continue reading >>
- American Diabetes Association® Releases 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, with Notable New Recommendations for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
- Leeds diabetes clinical champion raises awareness of gestational diabetes for World Diabetes Day
- Diabetes doctors: Which specialists treat diabetes?
How Is Diabetes Transmitted?
Diabetes mellitus is a condition of the endocrine system that limits the body's ability to manage the level of glucose in the blood. Diabetics may suffer from an excess of (hyperglycemia) or too little (hypoglycemia) blood sugar. The imbalances caused by the condition can lead to heart, vision and kidney, neurological or circulatory problems. Two forms of diabetes appear at different times in life. Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, appears in very early childhood and is a chronic condition requiring drug therapy. It results from a failure of the autoimmune system that limits the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin. It cannot be "caught" like a virus or bacteria. However, recent studies have confirmed that certain DNA triggers tend to be present in persons with diabetes. When mothers with diabetes have obese children, the children often appear to inherit the same DNA characteristic and develop diabetes. Children who have two parents with diabetes also appear to inherit the characteristic. This tendency to inherit has only been established with Type 1 diabetes. Since a Type 1 diabetic's pancreas will never produce insulin properly, it is important to diagnose and begin a treatment plan as early in life as possible. Type 2 diabetes develops after age 40 in persons who have certain risk factors, including obesity, a carbohydrate-rich diet and sedentary lifestyle. Adult-onset diabetes limits the ability of insulin to control blood glucose levels, rather than attacking the pancreas directly. No genetic triggers have been identified. Gestational diabetes, a temporary condition that resembles---and may develop into---Type 2 diabetes, primarily affects pregnant women who are obese or who may gain a great deal of weight with pregnancy. Both conditions can usually be managed us Continue reading >>
- Research suggests type 2 diabetes could be transmitted like mad cow disease
- American Diabetes Association® Releases 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, with Notable New Recommendations for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
- Leeds diabetes clinical champion raises awareness of gestational diabetes for World Diabetes Day
Could Type 2 Diabetes Be Transmissible?
Although the findings are preliminary, new research suggests that type 2 diabetes may be transmissible in a way that is similar to prion disorders such as "mad cow disease." Although type 2 diabetes affects more than 420 million people worldwide, its causes remain largely unknown. However, a new study has uncovered a novel mechanism that may drive the disease. The discovery could change the way we approach type 2 diabetes, both from a research perspective and from a therapeutic point of view. More specifically, the study investigates the possibility that type 2 diabetes might be caused by a misfolding of islet amyloid polypeptide protein (IAPP). The research was led by Claudio Soto at the McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX, which is part of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. The findings, published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, show that type 2 diabetes shares similarities with a group of transmissible neurodegenerative diseases known as "prion diseases." Examples of such diseases include bovine spongiform encephalopathy - popularly known as "mad cow disease" - or its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. IAPP in type 2 diabetes Previous research has shown that up to 80 percent of all type 2 diabetes patients have an accumulation of IAPP in the pancreas' islets. These are small clusters of cells inside the pancreas, which contain, among other cells, insulin-producing beta cells. IAPP is a peptide hormone that is secreted together with insulin by the pancreatic beta cells. While the effect of this excessive IAPP in type 2 diabetes is not fully known, it is believed that it damages the beta cells, stopping them from producing the insulin that the body needs to lower blood sugar levels. The researchers hypothesized that a misfol Continue reading >>
Is Diabetes Transferable?
First of all, diabetes is definitely not contagious. There a two types of diabetes. Both of them aren't curable, but with the right treatment, people can live just about as long as any other healthy person. Type 1: ... is an autoimmune disorder. The immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreasas as an overreaction, so that for people suffering from type 1 diabetes, insulin is essential for survival. Most likely, type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in the childhood. Though it's rare, it's also possible to develope it about the age of thirty. The patients need to inject insulin several times of the day, every time they eat or their blood sugar appears to be too high. Plus, they need to consider very different things, challenging their lifestyle. Type 2: ... begins with an insulin resistance one can manage at first by dietary changes and by increasing exercise. If that isn't successful anymore, one gets oral anti diabetics, and if that on the other hand isn't successful enough anymore, one starts slowly with injecting insulin, still taking the oral anti diabetics. The treatment consistently gets adjusted on the state of health of the particular patient by their doctors. Though you have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, if your ancestors suffered from it, the chance of getting ill are only highly increased, if you get overweight and if you underexercise. If you know that, you can avoid further increasing the risk. If there is only one side if ancestors in which someone had a type 2 diabetes, your chances to get it are at approximately 10%, if that is the case on both sides, there is a 30% - if you're overweight. One could also add a type 3 and a type 4 to that list, if one considers gestational diabetes, a condition in which the insulin re Continue reading >>
- American Diabetes Association® Releases 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, with Notable New Recommendations for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
- Leeds diabetes clinical champion raises awareness of gestational diabetes for World Diabetes Day
- Diabetes doctors: Which specialists treat diabetes?
Can Type 2 Diabetes Spread? | Yahoo Answers
like i know it can be passed on from person to person, but can type 2 diabetes actually be spread?? Are you sure that you want to delete this answer? Best Answer: Type 2 diabetes can't be passed from person to person and can't spread. Here is what WebMD says about who can get type 2 diabetes: "Anyone can get type 2 diabetes. However, those at highest risk for the disease are those who are obese or overweight, women who have had gestational diabetes, people with family members who have type 2 diabetes and people who have metabolic syndrome (a cluster of problems that include high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low good 'HDL' cholesterol and a high bad 'LDL' cholesterol, and high blood pressure). In addition, older people are more susceptible to developing the disease since aging makes the body less tolerant of sugars. In addition, people who smoke, have inactive lifestyles, or have certain dietary patterns have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes." So, the disease is more complicated than what one other commenter would like you to believe! type II diabetes has a definite hereditary component to it but it can not be passed from one unrelated person to another like a cold or virus. Type II diabetes appears more in certain ethnic groups and if your parents have it, there is a 50% chance that you may get it as well.Since type II results from many different components of a persons life and environment, it has not yet been possible to find a cure for all those that suffer from it.. Diabetes is a complex and well studied chronic illness but it absolutely is not an illness that can be "caught". I'm insulin dependant - the key thing (for me) is balance. I have to avoid anything with too many carbs but that doesn't mean I can't eat chocolate or bread or pasta. Merel Continue reading >>
Research Suggests Type 2 Diabetes Could Be Transmitted Like Mad Cow Disease
2 pictures It is estimated that about 6 percent of the world's population suffers from type 2 diabetes. Labelled a global health epidemic by the World Health Organization, rates of the disease increased dramatically from about 30 million cases in 1985 to around 390 million by 2015. A new study has now found a previously undiscovered mechanism that raises the possibility of type 2 diabetes being transmitted in a way similar to infectious diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease). Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is known to develop with age and is generally thought to occur as a result of lack of exercise and obesity. The dramatic increase in the disease all across the world over the past 50 years is still not clearly understood by scientists. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, these six comfort food favorites from Eggland's Best ... A team of researchers at the University of Texas has been focusing on a number of abnormal protein deposits found in over 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes. It was identified that this large majority of patients suffering from the disease had aggregates of a misfolded form of the protein islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). Small amounts of misfolded IAAP proteins were then injected into mice and the researchers found that this induced the formation of protein deposits in the animal's pancreas. Most striking was the observation that within weeks of receiving the misfolded IAAP aggregates the mice displayed several symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes, from elevated blood glucose levels to a loss of pancreatic beta cells. The research is yet to identify how these misfolded IAAP proteins could bring on a case of type 2 diabetes but the scientists hypothethize that once a large enough volume of these Continue reading >>
Is Diabetes Communicable?
If you have diabetes, are your loved ones more likely to get it? Science has always said no; diabetes is “noncommunicable.” But a new study raises the scary possibility that spouses and partners may be at increased risk. The study reviewed the records of over 3 million Kaiser members in Northern California. Researchers looked at life partners of people newly diagnosed with diabetes. Partners and spouses were twice as likely as the general population to develop diabetes in the following year. Male spouses were at even higher risk, about 2.5 times the national average. Females were slightly less vulnerable than men, but still close to double the average. There were some same-sex partners in the sample, but too few to draw meaningful conclusions, according to researcher Dr. Mohammed K. Ali of Emory University. The data, which were reported at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, didn’t specify what type of diabetes people had. The newly diagnosed subjects were aged 18–79, so most probably had Type 2. Dr. Ali said that, “The implications of this are huge. It might be important to…talk to the spouses or partners about their own risks. We know that health-related risks tend to occur among people who are socially connected.” What’s going on here? Is this effect real, and if so, what could have caused it? Partners might not be getting sicker. It might just be that people whose partners get diagnosed ask their doctor for a test. Then doctors will discover diabetes in people who already had it but didn’t know. However, there are several possible ways that diabetes could spread in a household. If you move in with somebody, you may adopt his food and exercise habits. If the new patterns are unhealthy, your health may suffer. If you st Continue reading >>
- American Diabetes Association® Releases 2018 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, with Notable New Recommendations for People with Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes
- Leeds diabetes clinical champion raises awareness of gestational diabetes for World Diabetes Day
- Diabetes doctors: Which specialists treat diabetes?
