• Question: what is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes

    Asked by 925genm42 to Stéphane on 8 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Stéphane Berneau

      Stéphane Berneau answered on 8 Mar 2018:

      Hi,

      That’s very interesting. One of my close friends works on diabetes in the laboratory.

      Diabetes is a condition characterised by a high level of glucose in the blood, called blood sugar.
      During food digestion, the carbs are transformed into glucose in the blood. The pancreas will produce insulin to help the cells store or consume the blood sugar.

      In Type 1: The immune system has destroyed the cell in the pancreas (unknown cause) and the insulin is not produced. It can appear at the early onset of life (before the age of 20) and injection of insulin help to restore temporarly the amount of blood sugar.

      Type 2: The pancreas produces insulin but its action is not working. Cells do not take the blood sugar, therefore, it accumulates. It is a insulin-resistant condition and unhealthy lifestyle can be the cause. Symptoms appears after being 30.

      Have you heard about gestational diabetes? Pregnant women can during pregnancy suffer from temporary diabetes which resolve after birth of the baby.

      I have put a nice little video (animation) about gestational diabetes.

      Let me know what you think.

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