Mody Health Dictionary

a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism leading to an abnormally high blood sugar (glucose) level (hyperglycaemia). As the blood sugar rises the typical symptoms of urinary frequency and increased thirst emerge. Tiredness, blurring of vision, and weight loss are also common. The long-term complications of diabetes are damage to the eye (diabetic *retinopathy), the kidney (*diabetic nephropathy), and the nerve supply to the feet (*diabetic neuropathy), as well as accelerated vascular disease leading to coronary heart disease or stroke. These can be delayed or avoided by good control of blood glucose levels, combined with blood pressure control and a healthy lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the *insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are damaged or destroyed, thought to be triggered by a viral environmental factor. It typically starts in childhood or adolescence (more than 80% of type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in people under the age of 20 years). Treatment with insulin injections needs to be started within a few weeks of the onset of symptoms and is almost invariably lifelong. Type 2 diabetes is a genetically determined resistance to insulin action on target tissues, primarily the liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue, and has become increasingly common in the UK and the developed world with the associated rise in obesity. People with type 2 diabetes outnumber those with type 1 diabetes by at least ten to one. The mainstay of treatment is a healthy diet, regular physical activity, weight control, and avoidance of tobacco in conjunction with *oral hypoglycaemic drugs. Insulin treatment is often required after 5–10 years from diagnosis, although less likely in people who have followed successful lifestyle management and have lost weight over time. A relatively new class of injectable treatment – the *GLP-1 receptor agonists – can help with both blood glucose and weight control. The rarer forms of diabetes mellitus include *maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) and diabetes secondary to destruction of the pancreas (e.g. by pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and surgery). *Gestational diabetes mellitus is any form of diabetes first diagnosed in pregnancy.... diabetes mellitus

(MODY, monogenic diabetes) a range of rare but important forms of type 2 *diabetes mellitus caused by a single autosomal *dominant genetic defect. The two commonest forms are mutations of the HNF-1? gene (MODY 3), which often responds to treatment with *sulphonylurea drugs, and mutations of the glucokinase gene (MODY 2), causing a mild elevation of blood glucose levels usually responsive to dietary management.... maturity-onset diabetes of the young