Within the wide range of diseases that can attack the human body, there is one that has more or less remained the same in prevalence globally, and this is Type 1 Diabetes. This type, unlike type 2, is highly conditioned by genetic factors, which mean that in the same family there are many people who suffer from this pathology.
The cause of this disease is not completely clear with certainty, but the theory that currently has the most weight in light of current knowledge is that of the autoimmune reaction 1 which destroys the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin.
1 the body attacks itself by mistake.
Therefore, considering the work of insulin in our body directly related to blood glucose control, it can be inferred that by reducing the number of these cells, the amount of insulin produced will be each time lower and blood glucose will be permanently elevated, which is the fundamental feature of Diabetes.
To make a differentiation between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, we can say that even though in both the glycemia 2 is high, the cause is different. In this post I will focus on talking about the cause of type 1 and a new way that is being studied to solve this problem.
2 Amount of blood glucose
The Pancreas as organs has a great importance in our organism, since it is an organ that is part of the digestive system, since it produces enzymes necessary for digestion, and also has an important Endocrine function that is in charge of controlling the blood glucose through Insulin and Glucagon, especially this first.
To understand how the Pancreas works at the endocrine level, that is, with regard to the formation and release of hormones, let's take a look at its anatomy. It is organized in what are called Islets, these are composed of different types of cells, among which Alpha cells and Beta cells stand out, the latter being the ones that are responsible for producing Insulin.
These islets are highly irrigated, that is, a large number of blood vessels arrive and pass through these islets, which can perceive if there is enough glucose in the blood or not, and based on that, produce a greater or lesser amount of insulin. This seen, of course, in a simple way. Because what happens is a considerable cascade of molecular events for this to be generated.
In general, what is indicated for patients with type 1 diabetes is the parenteral administration of insulin, in addition to adequate control of nutrition. And it is that we can say that all its organs work well, but it has a lack in the production of Insulin, which makes it worthy of it in an Exogenous way.
There are different types of insulin, which depend on the release and subsequent absorption by the body, therefore this alone causes the dose to vary for each patient depending on body weight. In addition, the time in which it is administered is also important, before the meal, after, there are many factors that are considered and it is usually a bit complex at first for the patient, until he gets used to the process.
But, the rigorous control of this treatment, the expense that the constant purchase of insulin implies in addition to the permanent use of syringes, implies a risk for adherence to treatment. Luckily and thanks to medical, scientific, and technological advances and surgical, various options have been proposed, in which it is intended to provide a radical solution to the problem of type 1 diabetes.
I must point out that I am not a surgeon, therefore I cannot talk about surgical procedures as such, give details of how it is done, because it is not my area of training, however, if I can consider the fact that surgery, a Specific procedure is an approach is the main tool given to solve this problem.
The surgery that arises in this case is the Islet cell transplant from a donor to a person with Type 1 Diabetes. It sounds very easy, but in reality it is not, because you have to find people who are compatible, and this alone is a great job.
Experiments have shown that the implanted islet cells can begin to produce insulin, which can eliminate the lack of this hormone in the recipient.
But on the other hand, there are risks in surgery for both the donor and the recipient, and they are high, since pancreatitis can occur, which can even be fatal. Much progress is being made in this regard, but there is still a long way to go before it is considered an absolute solution for this type of patient.
It also implies multidisciplinary work, since a transplant specialist is required to avoid rejection, hand in hand with internists and, obviously, a highly trained surgical team.
I think that at least in what has to do with type 1 diabetes there will be great advances, and over time we could reduce the prevalence of this disease, the same is not happening with type 2, but rather the figures are increasingly alarming, and is a product of the reasons for which it originates.
Thank you very much in advance for reading my publication. I hope you liked it.
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