Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2, also called adult onset diabetes, occurs when the body still produces insulin, but either produces insufficient amounts or the insulin that is produced does not function properly. Type 2 is by far the most common form of the condition, affecting 90% of those with the disease.
The adult onset variant of the disease usually does not require injections, as control is usually possible through careful diet and exercise, in some cases, supported with medications.
Obesity drugs are acknowledged parts of diabetes prevention in Canada, Australia, and Europe, but recognition is slower coming in the U.S. A recent four-year study, sponsored by Roche, found that the fat-blocking anti-obesity drug, Xenical, had a significant impact on the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
The discovery of insulin in 1921 was the most notable event in diabetes research. Prior to the discovery of insulin, an individual diagnosed with type 1 diabetes had a life expectancy of less than a year. The availability of insulin, although not a cure for diabetes, has allowed millions of people affected by diabetes to live a long and productive life.
More recent research achievements have identified type 1 diabetes as an autoimmune disease. This finding may allow suppression of the immune system and prevention of the destruction of beta cells.
In 1993, a 10-year study named the Diabetes Control and Complication Trial (DCCT) proved what researchers believed all along - that intensified care and tight glucose control can go a long way in reducing the long-term complications of diabetes.
Newer, more effective systems for delivering insulin are constantly being studied. One day, continuous and noninvasive glucose monitoring devices could eliminate the need for finger sticks to check glucose levels.
At the American Diabetes Association's 62nd annual meeting, there were reports of new technologies for insulin delivery. There has been successful research for a pill, a transdermal skin patch, a mouth spray and several versions of pulmonary inhaled insulin. That could make life easier for the 3.7 million patients in America who, on average, must take one to five insulin shots daily to control their disease.
Research shows that a drug (an antibody) (in a single 2-week treatment) may stop type 1 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, decreasing their need for insulin shots. The most important finding of this study is that there can be effective intervention even after onset of the disease. The drug targets specific immune cells and so protects beta cells and pre-insulin production.
The first successful pancreas transplant was performed in 1966, but survival rates for this procedure were until improved anti-rejection drugs became available. By the end of 1997, nearly 10,000 pancreatic transplants were recorded in the International Pancreas Transplant Registry. Most pancreatic transplantations in patients with diabetes are offered to people with end-stage renal disease and are performed at the same time as or after kidney transplantation. The success rates for pancreas transplants alone are not as good as when both kidney and pancreas are transplanted together. Pancreas transplant is, therefore, usually only offered to a patient who has end-stage renal failure and requires a kidney transplant.
Some of the most promising diabetes research appears to be in the area of islet cell transplants. In this procedure, instead of transplanting most of or the entire pancreas, only the islet cells (those cells responsible for insulin production) are transplanted. This procedure does not involve the surgical risks associated with organ transplantations. Many researchers believe that the cure for diabetes will evolve when improved methods are perfected for preventing rejection of the transplanted islet cells.
The ability to use engineered islet cells, using recombinant DNA to create new islet cells, is another area of diabetes research that could some day lead to a cure for diabetes.
The future for those affected by diabetes looks hopeful. Research efforts during the past 80 years have led to improved management and treatment of diabetes today. Although a lot of work remains in diabetes research, the road to the cure for diabetes is getting shorter.
How common is Type 1 Diabetes?
Of the 16 million people with diabetes in the United States, about 5 percent to 10 percent have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood or adolescence but may begin at any age. It is a lifelong disease because there is no cure for type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body stages a war against itself by attacking its own cells. Researchers do not know exactly what causes the immune system to attack and destroy the beta cells within the pancreas, but the end result is the inability of the pancreas to produce the hormone insulin.
Before the discovery of insulin in the 1920s, people with type 1 diabetes usually died within a year of diagnosis. All of that has changed. Although people with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections multiple times each day to balance their blood glucose levels, they can expect to live a long life despite the disease.
The discovery of insulin in 1921 was the most notable event in diabetes research. Prior to the discovery of insulin, an individual diagnosed with type 1 diabetes had a life expectancy of less than a year. The availability of insulin, although not a cure for diabetes, has allowed millions of people affected by diabetes to live a long and productive life.
More recent research achievements have identified type 1 diabetes as an autoimmune disease. This finding may allow suppression of the immune system and prevention of the destruction of beta cells.
In 1993, a 10-year study named the Diabetes Control and Complication Trial (DCCT) proved what researchers believed all along - that intensified care and tight glucose control can go a long way in reducing the long-term complications of diabetes.
Newer, more effective systems for delivering insulin are constantly being studied. One day, continuous and noninvasive glucose monitoring devices could eliminate the need for finger sticks to check glucose levels.
At the American Diabetes Association's 62nd annual meeting, there were reports of new technologies for insulin delivery. There has been successful research for a pill, a transdermal skin patch, a mouth spray and several versions of pulmonary inhaled insulin. That could make life easier for the 3.7 million patients in America who, on average, must take one to five insulin shots daily to control their disease.
Research shows that a drug (an antibody) (in a single 2-week treatment) may stop type 1 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, decreasing their need for insulin shots. The most important finding of this study is that there can be effective intervention even after onset of the disease. The drug targets specific immune cells and so protects beta cells and pre-insulin production.
The first successful pancreas transplant was performed in 1966, but survival rates for this procedure were until improved anti-rejection drugs became available. By the end of 1997, nearly 10,000 pancreatic transplants were recorded in the International Pancreas Transplant Registry. Most pancreatic transplantations in patients with diabetes are offered to people with end-stage renal disease and are performed at the same time as or after kidney transplantation. The success rates for pancreas transplants alone are not as good as when both kidney and pancreas are transplanted together. Pancreas transplant is, therefore, usually only offered to a patient who has end-stage renal failure and requires a kidney transplant.
Some of the most promising diabetes research appears to be in the area of islet cell transplants. In this procedure, instead of transplanting most of or the entire pancreas, only the islet cells (those cells responsible for insulin production) are transplanted. This procedure does not involve the surgical risks associated with organ transplantations. Many researchers believe that the cure for diabetes will evolve when improved methods are perfected for preventing rejection of the transplanted islet cells.
The ability to use engineered islet cells, using recombinant DNA to create new islet cells, is another area of diabetes research that could some day lead to a cure for diabetes.
The future for those affected by diabetes looks hopeful. Research efforts during the past 80 years have led to improved management and treatment of diabetes today. Although a lot of work remains in diabetes research, the road to the cure for diabetes is getting shorter.
How common is Type 1 Diabetes?
Of the 16 million people with diabetes in the United States, about 5 percent to 10 percent have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood or adolescence but may begin at any age. It is a lifelong disease because there is no cure for type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body stages a war against itself by attacking its own cells. Researchers do not know exactly what causes the immune system to attack and destroy the beta cells within the pancreas, but the end result is the inability of the pancreas to produce the hormone insulin.
Before the discovery of insulin in the 1920s, people with type 1 diabetes usually died within a year of diagnosis. All of that has changed. Although people with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections multiple times each day to balance their blood glucose levels, they can expect to live a long life despite the disease.
My Diabetic Life
My diabetes has became a way of life, I have type 1 diabetes since 1993. I found out I had diabetes when I went for a job drug screening. My drug test showed I had sugar in my drug test and told I should be checked for possibly having diabetes. I had a hard time believing I had diabetes so when told about it chose to ignore it.
I later found that wasn't a smart thing to do. A few month's after being told I should check for diabetes I started having a bad stomach ache one evening. As the evening went on it kept getting worse. I finally went to the local hospital to visit the emergency room to see what was happening. I never did tell them I might be diabetic. They gave me some medicine to help me feel better and I was sent home and told to visit my doctor the following day.
The following day I went to my doctor and by surprise I was told my blood sugar level was very high. It was so bad I was told don't go home just check your self into the hospital. I wasn't to sure what was going on. I called my wife to let her know I was needing to stay in the hospital.
I ended up having to be in the hospital for four day's. I was told I had diabetes and they tried me on both just pills and then insulin. In 1993 I was 31 years old and it was a surprised to the doctor at my age that I needed to take insulin in stead of the pills. Taking insulin meant I was a type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes usually happens in a person younger than I was.
While I was in the hospital I chose to take the free diabetic classes the hospital offered. My wife attended the diabetic classes with me. We both learned more about diabetes and what I would need to do to take care of my self.
When you find out you are diabetic the first time you visit the pharmacy to get all the supplies needed it is a very over whelming thing. You go from being empty handed going to the store to having a whole bag of items to take home with you. Items such as, Test meter, mine was a One Touch Meter made by Lifescan. You also have to get the test strips to go with the meter. I had my insulin to get. I had two kinds to get NPH and Humalog. You also have to get insulin needles which come in a box. You also need a storage device to hold everything.
I later found that wasn't a smart thing to do. A few month's after being told I should check for diabetes I started having a bad stomach ache one evening. As the evening went on it kept getting worse. I finally went to the local hospital to visit the emergency room to see what was happening. I never did tell them I might be diabetic. They gave me some medicine to help me feel better and I was sent home and told to visit my doctor the following day.
The following day I went to my doctor and by surprise I was told my blood sugar level was very high. It was so bad I was told don't go home just check your self into the hospital. I wasn't to sure what was going on. I called my wife to let her know I was needing to stay in the hospital.
I ended up having to be in the hospital for four day's. I was told I had diabetes and they tried me on both just pills and then insulin. In 1993 I was 31 years old and it was a surprised to the doctor at my age that I needed to take insulin in stead of the pills. Taking insulin meant I was a type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes usually happens in a person younger than I was.
While I was in the hospital I chose to take the free diabetic classes the hospital offered. My wife attended the diabetic classes with me. We both learned more about diabetes and what I would need to do to take care of my self.
When you find out you are diabetic the first time you visit the pharmacy to get all the supplies needed it is a very over whelming thing. You go from being empty handed going to the store to having a whole bag of items to take home with you. Items such as, Test meter, mine was a One Touch Meter made by Lifescan. You also have to get the test strips to go with the meter. I had my insulin to get. I had two kinds to get NPH and Humalog. You also have to get insulin needles which come in a box. You also need a storage device to hold everything.
Friday, September 03, 2004
FREEDOM’S COST
When engines roared and hatred flew
and innocence was lost
In twisted steel and broken lives --
there lay Freedom’s cost
When heroes crawled amongst the ruins
in desperate search of life
Their burning eyes bore witness to
Freedom’s awful price
When travelers stood to wrest the course
of hatred from its goal
They knew full well they gave their lives
in paying Freedom’s toll
When soldiers proud donned uniforms
for battles all too near
They knew they would not all return
for Freedom’s dues are dear
When from the sorrow a nation rose
in determined unity
With heads held high, prepared to fight
for Freedom is not free
Deborah Whipp, September 20, 2001
and innocence was lost
In twisted steel and broken lives --
there lay Freedom’s cost
When heroes crawled amongst the ruins
in desperate search of life
Their burning eyes bore witness to
Freedom’s awful price
When travelers stood to wrest the course
of hatred from its goal
They knew full well they gave their lives
in paying Freedom’s toll
When soldiers proud donned uniforms
for battles all too near
They knew they would not all return
for Freedom’s dues are dear
When from the sorrow a nation rose
in determined unity
With heads held high, prepared to fight
for Freedom is not free
Deborah Whipp, September 20, 2001
SPIRIT OF A NATION
SPIRIT OF A NATION
I proudly wave across the land,
a stately emblem in the breeze
A patriotic declaration
of a nation’s liberty
White purity and innocence
Red hardiness and valor
Blue vigilance and justice
are preserved within my colors
Over hallowed halls of knowledge,
of government, of law
I stand watch over principles
to earn my nation’s awe
And like the stars so proudly worn
upon my breast of blue
I transcend the bonds of earth
to stand majestic on the moon
Dauntless onto battlefields
I lead my country’s brave
And with solemn dignity
escort the fallen to their graves
I serve as dressing for the wounds
of injured men and towers
Bestowing hope and solace
in my nation’s darkest hours
When my loyal, revered servants’
last heartbeats come to pass
I join my mourning nation,
flying somberly half mast
Flames of hatred and dissension
may reduce my cloth to ash
Yet with the smoke my liberty
still rises unabashed
My strength lies not in stars or stripes,
in fabric nor in thread
But in the hearts of citizens
who hold my values sacred
For those who would destroy
America’s noble decoration
Will come to find they shan’t destroy
the spirit of a nation
Deborah Whipp, October 25, 2001
I proudly wave across the land,
a stately emblem in the breeze
A patriotic declaration
of a nation’s liberty
White purity and innocence
Red hardiness and valor
Blue vigilance and justice
are preserved within my colors
Over hallowed halls of knowledge,
of government, of law
I stand watch over principles
to earn my nation’s awe
And like the stars so proudly worn
upon my breast of blue
I transcend the bonds of earth
to stand majestic on the moon
Dauntless onto battlefields
I lead my country’s brave
And with solemn dignity
escort the fallen to their graves
I serve as dressing for the wounds
of injured men and towers
Bestowing hope and solace
in my nation’s darkest hours
When my loyal, revered servants’
last heartbeats come to pass
I join my mourning nation,
flying somberly half mast
Flames of hatred and dissension
may reduce my cloth to ash
Yet with the smoke my liberty
still rises unabashed
My strength lies not in stars or stripes,
in fabric nor in thread
But in the hearts of citizens
who hold my values sacred
For those who would destroy
America’s noble decoration
Will come to find they shan’t destroy
the spirit of a nation
Deborah Whipp, October 25, 2001
You're a Grand Old Flag
You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
Pledge of Allegiance, performed by Red Skelton
I Me; an individual; a committee of one.
Pledge Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
Allegiance My love and my devotion.
To the Flag Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job.
United That means that we have all come together.
States Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.
And to the Republic Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands
One Nation One Nation--meaning, so blessed by God.
Indivisible Incapable of being divided.
With Liberty Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.
For All For All--which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: "Under God."; Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?
Red Skelton
Pledge Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
Allegiance My love and my devotion.
To the Flag Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job.
United That means that we have all come together.
States Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.
And to the Republic Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands
One Nation One Nation--meaning, so blessed by God.
Indivisible Incapable of being divided.
With Liberty Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.
For All For All--which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: "Under God."; Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?
Red Skelton
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