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Content
Diabetes
Diabetes Information
-Diabetes Facts
-History of Diabetes
-Causes of Diabetes
-Diabetes Complications
-Diabetes Education
-Diabetes Research
Diabetes Mellitus
-Diabetes Mellitus Symptoms
-Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
-Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
-Diabetes Mellitus Treatment
Types of Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
-Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
-Type 1 Diabetes Symptoms
-Type 1 Diabetes Diet
-Type 1 Diabetes Cure
Type 2 Diabetes
-Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
-Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
-Type 2 Diabetes Causes
-Type 2 Diabetes Diet
-Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
-Type 2 Diabetes Medications
Gestational Diabetes
-Gestational Diabetes Test
-Gestational Diabetes Symptoms
-Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan
-Gestational Diabetes Treatment
Juvenile Diabetes
-Juvenile Diabetes Symptoms
-Juvenile Diabetes Treatment
Diabetes Insipidus
-Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus
-Treatment for Diabetes Insipidus
Feline Diabetes
Diabetes Symptoms
-Signs of Diabetes
Also: Diabetes Sign Symptoms
-Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
Also: Type II Diabetes Symptoms
-Gestational Diabetes Symptoms
-Symptoms, Juvenile Diabetes
Also: Diabetes Symptoms in Child
Glucose
(see also Blood Glucose)
-Glucose Level
Also: Blood Glucose Level
-Glucose Meter
Also: Blood Glucose Meter
-Glucose Monitor
Also: Blood Glucose Monitor
-Glucose Test
Also: Glucose Tolerance Test
-Glucose Intolerance
Diabetes Diet
-Diabetes Food
-Diabetes Nutrition
-Diabetes Diet Plan
-Type 2 Diabetes Diet
Diabetes Supply
-Diabetes Testing Supply
Diabetes Treatment
-Diabetes
Medications
-Alternative Treatment for Diabetes
Insulin
-Insulin Resistance
-Insulin Pump
-Lantus Insulin
Diabetes Care
-Diabetes Management
-Diabetes Associations
-Diabetes Prevention
-Diabetes Cure
Diabetes
is the No. 6 leading causes of deaths in the United States, according to 2001
data from the United States National Center for Health Statistics.
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Insulin - General Information
What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone, and therefore, a protein. Insulin is secreted by
groups of cells within the pancreas called islet cells. The pancreas is an organ
that sits behind the stomach and has many functions in addition to insulin
production. The pancreas also produces digestive enzymes and other hormones.
Carbohydrates (or sugars) are absorbed from the intestines into the bloodstream
after a meal. Insulin is then secreted by the pancreas in response to this
detected increase in blood sugar. Most cells of the body have insulin receptors
which bind the insulin which is in the circulation. When a cell has insulin
attached to its surface, the cell activates other receptors designed to absorb
glucose (sugar) from the blood stream into the inside of the cell.
Without insulin, you can eat lots of food and actually be in a state of
starvation since many of our cells cannot access the calories contained in the
glucose very well without the action of insulin. This is why Type 1 diabetics
who do not make insulin can become very ill without insulin shots. Insulin is a
necessary hormone. Those who develop a deficiency of insulin must have it
replaced via shots or pumps (Type 1 Diabetes). More commonly, people will
develop insulin resistance (Type 2 Diabetes) rather than a true deficiency of
insulin. In this case, the levels of insulin in the blood are similar or even a
little higher than in normal, non-diabetic individuals. However, many cells of
Type 2 diabetics respond sluggishly to the insulin they make and therefore their
cells cannot absorb the sugar molecules well. This leads to blood sugar levels
which run higher than normal. Occasionally Type 2 diabetics will need insulin
shots but most of the time other methods of treatment will work.
Insulin was the first hormone identified (late 1920's) which won the
doctor and medical student who discovered it the Nobel Prize (Banting and Best).
They discovered insulin by tying a string around the pancreatic duct of several
dogs. When they examined the pancreases of these dogs several weeks later, all
of the pancreas digestive cells were gone (died and were absorbed by the immune
system) and the only thing left was thousands of pancreatic islets. They then
isolated the protein from these islets and behold, they discovered insulin. Note
that there are other hormones produced by different types of cells within
pancreatic islets (glucagon, somatostatin, etc) but insulin is produced in far
greater amounts under normal conditions making the simple approach used by
Banting and Best quite successful.
Where Does Commercial Insulin Come From?
The first successful insulin preparations came from cows (and later pigs). The
pancreatic islets and the insulin protein contained within them were isolated
from animals slaughtered for food in a similar but more complex fashion than was
used by our doctor and med-student duo. The bovine (cow) and porcine (pig)
insulin were purified, bottled, and sold. Bovine and porcine insulin worked very
well (and still do!) for the vast majority of patients, but some could develop
an allergy or other types of reactions to the foreign protein (a foreign protein
is a protein which is not native to humans). In the 1980's technology had
advanced to the point where we could make human insulin. The advantage would be
that human insulin would have a much lower chance of inducing a reaction because
it is not a foreign protein (all humans have the exact same insulin, so we do
not "see" this as a foreign protein). The technology which made this approach
possible was the development of recombinant DNA techniques. In simple terms, the
human gene which codes for the insulin protein was cloned (copied) and then put
inside of bacteria. A number of tricks were performed on this gene to make the
bacteria want to use it to constantly make insulin. Big vats of bacteria now
make tons of human insulin. From this, pharmaceutical companies can isolate pure
human insulin.
(From www.endocrineweb.com)
See also
-Insulin Resistance
-Insulin Pump
-Lantus Insulin
Note:
This diabetes
health education project is supported
by Chong's Health Care at http://www.cljhealth.com, one of the leading companies in the discovery of
alternative
medicines for diabetes.
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