Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease, the main symptoms of which are elevated levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
Glucose is the energy of the body – the cells use it to produce energy. For this to happen, glucose from the blood needs to get into the cell. insulin is required to complete this process.
Insulin is a hormone that is produced by β (beta) pancreatic gland cells.
What you need to know about diabetes?
Every day, a healthy person needs about 0.3 – 0.5 units of insulin per kilogram of body weight. About half of the required dose is continuously released day and night, to provide cells with energy between meals at different times of the day. After eating, the remaining insulin is briefly excreted to replenish the body’s energy reserves in the liver and muscles.
In the case of the first type of diabetes, the β cells of the pancreas die in autoimmune processes and the body no longer produces insulin (absolute insulin deficiency). In turn, in the case of diabetes of the second type, the pancreas does not produce insulin in the required amount (relative insulin deficiency) and / or the body is not able to effectively use the developed insulin (insulin resistance).
Facts and figures
Of the 10 people with diabetes, 8 to 9 have type 2 diabetes. diabetes of the first type is diagnosed in 10-15% of cases, and diabetes of the second type in turn is much more common in 85-90% of cases.
In 2012, 79122 people suffered from diabetes in Latvia. 6837 new patients were registered, which is more than in 2011. Most cases among residents over 50 years old, but people were younger as well.
According to WHO, around 347 million people with diabetes are ill. It is predicted that in 2030 diabetes will be the seventh most common cause of death. More than 50% of diabetics do not suspect anything about their disease.
In general, diabetes increases the mortality rate by 3-4 times. Vascular complications caused by diabetes mellitus are loss of vision, renal failure, heart attack, stroke, and narrowing of the vessels in the legs. Diabetes mellitus 3-5 times increases the overall incidence, reduces performance and lowers the standard of living. In economically developed countries, diabetes is the main cause of deterioration and loss of vision in adults. In 75% of diabetics, death is caused by coronary heart disease.
Huge material resources are needed to treat the complications of diabetes – blindness, kidney failure and coronary heart disease. It is estimated that the care and treatment of patients with diabetes need 5-10% of the state budget.
Treatment
For the treatment of type 1 diabetes, insulin preparations are used – fast or slow action.
For the treatment of type 2 diabetes, various groups of oral sugar reducing agents are used – biguanides, sulfonyluretic drugs, meglitinides, thiazolidinediones, dpp-4 inhibitors, and injectable drugs – glp-1 receptor agonists. If one sugar-reducing drug fails to achieve metabolic compensation of diabetes, drugs of two or more groups are used for treatment.
If using sugar-reducing medicines fails to achieve good compensation for diabetes, then insulin preparations are also used.