Different Types of Insulin - Research Paper Example

? Data Analysis Affiliation The worldwide occurrence of diabetes is rising because of factors such as urbanization, aging, population growth, and increased frequency of obesity (Carozza, 2013). India has the most number of people suffering from diabetes globally. There are three types of Diabetes mellitus (DM): type 1 DM that is dependent on insulin, type 2 DM, and gestational DM. according to studies ten percent of diabetic patients suffer from type 1 diabetes. The condition is an autoimmune type of disorder that forms from the destruction of insulin producing beta cells (Carozza, 2013). This causes deficiency of insulin in the body. Introduction Type 1 diabetes is a major disease in young adults and children. Experts previously recognized it as juvenile diabetes because those diagnosed were mostly young people. Type 1 diabetes describes a diabetic condition where the body lacks producing any insulin. Insulin is necessary in converting starches, sugar and other foods into energy that the body requires. This type of diabetes is not common among people suffering from diabetes. Only around five percent of diabetes patients suffer from type 1 diabetes. The best treatment for the condition is insulin therapy. This type of therapy and various treatments allows a person to manage the condition and live a healthier life (Drake, Smith, Betts & Crowne, 2002). The paper looks at how lack of insulin causes the development of type 1 diabetes and for the best treatment recommended in managing the condition. Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes forms when the pancreatic glands produce less or no insulin when a person suffers from type 1 diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced that lets sugar enter cells to generate energy. When the body starts resisting insulin effects, it results to type 2 diabetes. The various signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes include extreme hunger, enhanced thirst, recurrent urination, fatigue, and weight loss. Some causes of type 1 diabetes include exposure to specific viruses or genetics. However, the exact cause of this condition is not clear. Most people develop type 1 diabetes because their immune system starts destroying insulin instead of fighting viruses and other harmful bacteria, which mainly occur due to genetics (Garg, 2011). The condition may be prevalent in young people, however; it can also develop during adulthood. There has been a lot of research carried out to determine the best treatment for diabetes. However, there is no cure for the condition. The best a person can do is to manage it and prevent severe cases such as type 2 diabetes. Insulin Types of insulin depend on their speed of effectiveness, when they peak and the amount of time they last. The strengths of insulin have different levels with the most general being U-100 (Gillespie, 2006). The United States manufactures insulin, however; it is possible to use animal insulin (Gillespie, 2006). The pancreas has beta cells that make and release insulin hormones with every meal. Insulin assists the body in using and storing blood glucose it receives from food. A person suffering from type 1 diabetes no longer produces insulin because the beta cells in the pancreas no longer work. The difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes is that type 2 diabetes produces insulin, but the body fails to respond to it (Drake, Smith, Betts & Crowne, 2002). The best way to receive insulin medication is through direct injections into the fat under the skin. There are different types of insulin that a person can inject to manage type 1 diabetes. Rapid-acting insulin starts working five minutes after its injection and continues for about four hours afterwards. Regular insulin is short acting since it gets to the bloodstream after 30minutes, but it is more effective than rapid-acting insulin because it continues to work for six hours. There is intermediate and long acting insulin that work four hours and ten hours after injection, respectively (Gillespie, 2006). The longer the time any type of insulin takes to starts acting the longer its effectiveness lasts. They have three distinct characteristics, which are onset, peak time and duration. Onset describes the time insulin takes to get to the bloodstream and starts reducing blood glucose while peak time is when it is at its maximum capability, and lastly duration describes how long the insulin continues to work. Premixed insulin is helpful for people who cannot draw insulin from bottles because of poor eyesight, or have problems reading the appropriate dosages or directions. Risk Factors The risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not many, however; researchers continue to discover other possibilities. Family history is a risk factor because any person with relatives suffering from the condition has higher chances of developing it. Genetics creates specific genes in the body that indicate a higher risk of type I diabetes. It is possible for a person to know if they are susceptible by undergoing genetic testing. According to experts, it is possible for a person to increase their chances if they travel further from the equator (Carozza, 2013). People living in such regions like Sardinia and Finland have the highest occurrence of type 1 diabetes. Some possible risks include early vitamin D, viral exposure and dietary factors. Research proposes that early exposure to vitamin D may reduce a person’s chances of getting the condition. However, vitamin D received from cow’s milk may increase those chances (Gillespie, 2006). It is also possible to develop type 1 diabetes if a person has viral infections. Exposure to mumps virus and Epstein-Barr virus may cause the body to start destroying the beta cells producing insulin in the body, or the viruses may infect these cells directly. Dietary factors include intake of fatty acids such as omega-3 may prevent its development. It is important to avoid giving infants dairy products since this may increase their risk of getting type 1 diabetes (Gillespie, 2006). Other factors that increase the risk include in taking nitrates from drinking water, introducing cereals to the diet of a baby, if a mother is below 25 years when giving birth, and a baby developing a respiratory infection following birth. Recommended Treatments The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial showed that exhaustive control of diabetes in childhood notably decreases the complications of microvascular. Since 1970s, during the beginning of constant insulin infusion using insulin pumps (CSII), the recognition of CSII has been growing. CSII is a type of intensive therapy using insulin that tries to copy physiological release of insulin through management of 24-hour modifiable basal rates and bolus doses of flexible mealtime. There have been studies comparing the safety and efficacy of Multiple Daily Insulin (MDI) injections with that of CSII. Some studies found that there is similarity in the general metabolic control. Other studies discovered that there is better control of glycemic with the CSII treatment. Some experts found that CSII was efficient in adult patients with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of a baseline above eight percent (Batajool, Messina & Wilson, 2012). There have been no long-term of controlled diabetes in children with type 1 diabetes. Most of the different therapeutic management of type 1 diabetes is proving to be difficult for most patients. Using hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are problematic because of the discomfort of their injectable nature. These limitations of insulin therapies caused the start of studying the Noninsulin Pharmacological Therapies for management of type 1 diabetes (Garg, 2011). The therapy has different classes: insulin-sensitizing agents, immunotherapeutic agents, absorption modulators of gastrointestinal nutrient, recombinant of growth factors that resemble human insulin, incretin-based therapies, and various promising therapeutics. Some of these therapies are already in use in managing type 1 diabetes, while others are still in development. Nevertheless, the existing research to create Noninsulin Pharmacological Therapies is progressive and promising (Garg, 2011). Summary Type 1 diabetes is a common condition for young people. The risk factors of the disease happen during the early stages of childhood. The condition has a low percentage among people suffering from diabetes. Most of the risk factors associated with the condition are preventable and manageable. It is possible to avoid developing type 1 diabetes with the right care. The treatments recommended for type 1 diabetes involve injecting insulin, since the cause of the condition is lack of insulin in the body. There are other treatments associated with type 1 diabetes according to research, mainly because of the discomfort caused by injecting insulin into the body. It is also easy to mistake type 2 diabetes for type 1 diabetes. References Batajool, R. J.; Messina, Catherine R. & Wilson, T. A. (2012). Long-term efficacy of insulin pump therapy in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, 4(3): 127–131. Carozza, J. (2013). Peer review: Reed ’14 investigates indigenous remedies for type 1 diabetes. The Cornell Daily Sun. Drake, A. J.; Smith, A.; Betts, P. R. & Crowne, E. C. (2002). Acute pediatrics: Type 2 diabetes in obese white children. Archives of Diseases in Childhood,86(3). Garg, V. (2011). Noninsulin pharmacological management of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152180/ Gillespie, K. M. (2006). Type 1 diabetes: Pathogenesis and prevention. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 175(2). Read More