The Johns Hopkins Guide to Diabetes: For Patients and Families (2nd edition)

摘要

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease of insulin deficiency. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the failure of pancreatic beta-cells. Its idiopathic form has no known cause. The majority of sufferers have type 2 diabetes, in which the beta cells produce insulin but the appropriate receptors have become insulin-resistant and glucose transport has become ineffective. There is a strong genetic component, but other risk factors include, most especially, obesity, lack of physical activity and hypertension. Diabetes is a leading cause of death: it is estimated to be a contributory factor in about 50 per cent of heart attacks and 75 per cent of strokes in the US, as well as renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, a leading cause of adult blindness and a major cause of peripheral neuropathy, leading to loss of mobility, sometimes requiring amputation. Effective treatment consists of insulin replacement, strict diet control and exercise. Many types of drugs have been used to control diabetes. Nothing has yet been found which will cure or prevent it.