by Y Tian

Created on: December 16, 2008

Diabetes Mellitus is a group of serious metabolic diseases that are increasingly affecting more and more people around the world. Despite our growing awareness and understanding of this disease, its prevalence continues to rise almost uncontrollably. In 2000, the World Health Organization estimated that at least 171 million people around the world are suffering from diabetes and according to recent projections, of all the children born in the year 2000, one in three will suffer from diabetes in their lifetime.

Within the human body, whenever carbohydrates such as bread, rice and cake are ingested, it is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract as glucose. While glucose is a highly volatile molecule, it is also a major source of energy for our body. In particular, the brain and red blood cells amongst other body components can only utilise glucose for energy. If the blood glucose level is too low (a condition termed hypoglycaemia), one may suffer from rapid heartbeats, agitation, coma and even death. However, on the other side of the scale, if hyperglycaemia (elevated blood glucose level) occurs, one may feel tired, hyperventilation, cardiac arrhythmia and again, coma and death. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the body's blood glucose level is strictly maintained at a stable and safe level.

Insulin is the key hormone involved in storing glucose within the body. It is produced by the beta-cells of the pancreas in response elevated blood glucose levels (such as shortly after a meal). The release of insulin activates glucose transporters on cell membranes to take glucose from the circulating blood into cells, storing it for future use. Thus, if insulin is not doing its job properly (for example, in the case of diabetes), then there will be major problems with the blood glucose levels and consequently, with the body in general.

By definition, diabetes mellitus is a "syndrome of chronic hyperglycaemia due to relative insulin deficiency, resistance or both" (Kumar & Clark. 2005). Type I diabetes (alternatively known as juvenile diabetes) is a disease that arose due to insulin deficiency. Although difficult to distinguish from type II diabetes, it is a prominent childhood disease, reaching peak prevalence at the time of puberty. However, with the current obesity epidemic increasing the risk of children getting type II diabetes, the line between the two categories is now even more blurred.

In almost all of the cases of type I diabetes, patients suffer from

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