From the Latin diabētes, which derives from a Greek word that means “to go through”, diabetes is a metabolic disease that causes various disorders, such as the elimination of excessive urine, intense thirst and weight loss. There are two types of diabetes that are not pathologically related but share the aforementioned clinical manifestations: diabetes mellitus (the most common type of diabetes) and diabetes insipidus.
Diabetes mellitus is caused by a disorder in insulin (a hormone made up of more than fifty amino acids), either a deficiency in quantity or in use. This disorder generates an excess of glucose in the blood of the affected subject. See Abbreviation Finder for acronyms related to Diabetes.
The treatment against diabetes mellitus consists in maintaining the glucose level within normal parameters. For this, patients must inject insulin, follow a diet low in sugar and carbohydrates, and perform physical exercise on a regular basis.
In addition to all of the above, it is important to underline that the aforementioned diabetes mellitus can be classified into four clearly differentiated types:
Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. DM-1 is also known as this class of pathology that occurs, above all, in young people and that may have among its most frequent causes elements such as a virus or ingestion, during lactation, cow’s milk instead of breast milk.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this case, it is also called DM-2. It is identified because in his case the cells whose mission is to allow glucose to enter them are damaged. Specifically, it is also considered that it frequently appears in people suffering from obesity.
Gestational diabetes mellitus. As its name suggests, it is one that affects a more or less high percentage of women during their pregnancy. An increase in glucose and a decrease in insulin during pregnancy is what gives rise to the appearance of this pathology that, on some occasions, brings with it complications in childbirth.
Diabetes mellitus Type 1.5. LADA is the other name by which this type of diabetes is known, which is identified by the fact that it has characteristics of both DM-1 and DM-2.
Broadly speaking, we can say that these are the main types of diabetes mellitus that exist. However, there are others that in their case affect less than 6% of people who have been diagnosed. Among them would be type 3A or 3F.
Diabetes mellitus can cause chronic disorders such as diabetic foot, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts.
Diabetes insipidus, on the other hand, is caused by an alteration of the pituitary gland. This disease is characterized by polyuria without the presence of glucose, although with a high amount of sodium and osmolarity.
The main symptom of diabetes insipidus is excessive urine production, which then leads to uncontrolled thirst that can lead a person to drink up to 40 liters of fluid a day. When the compensation between the losses through the urine and the fluids ingested does not take place, the individual can become dehydrated and suffer a significant drop in blood pressure.
