It is crucial to start off with the definition of this disease, in other words what Diabetes is.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that consist in troubles at metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It is due to insufficient secretion of insulin or insulin resistance. The pancreas is a glandular organ in the digestive and endocrine systems, which has two specific functions, endocrine and other exocrine. Endocrine function is responsible for producing and secreting two important hormones, insulin and glucagon, through structures called Islets of Langerhans. In these structures, the alpha cells produce glucagon, which raises the level of blood glucose and the beta cells produce insulin, which binds to receptor sites on the outside of a cell and works essentially like a key that allows glucose to enter cells. When not enough insulin is produced (hypoglycemia) or when resistance to insulin is developed (glucose can no longer be used by the cells). The Glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of going into cells. As a result it finishes with a condition called hyperglycemia. The body tries to get rid of that excess glucose, but the cells do not receive the glucose needed and send signals to the hypothalamus that more food is needed. On the other hand, exocrine function is the production of pancreatic juice and also regulate the metabolism of fats.
For instance, when we eat a piece of bread, once digested, it is converted into glucose. The glucose circulates through the bloodstream to feed every cell of the body. The presence of glucose stimulates beta cells of the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin reaches every cell and acts like a key in their receptors, to open their doors and let glucose enter. If there is no insulin or the cell receptors do not function, glucose cannot penetrate into the cells, and the affected person will suffer from nutrient deficiencies.
The incidence of this disease is a critical factor to mention, since this disease is spread worldwide and there are more cases as the time goes by.
