DIABETES MELLITUS

Type 2 Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (also known as non insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM), adult-onset diabetes or obesity related diabetes) is a metabolic disorder that is primarily characterized by insulin resistance, relative insulin deficiency, and hyperglycaemia. It is often managed by engaging in exercise and modifying one's diet. It is rapidly increasing in the developed countries, and there is some evidence that this pattern will be followed in coming years in much of the rest of the world.

Unlike diabetes type 1, there is little tendency toward ketoacidosis in Type 2 diabetes, though it is not unknown. One effect that can occur is nonketonic hyperglycaemia. Complex and multifactorial metabolic changes lead to damage and function impairment of many organs, most importantly the cardiovascular system in both types. This leads to substantially increased morbidity and mortality in both Type 1 and Type 2 patients, but the two have quite different origins and treatments despite the similarity in complications.

The cause of Type 2 diabetes is not as well understood. Two factors appear to be important in Type 2 diabetes. These are insulin resistance and insulin deficiency. Insulin resistance means that body cells do not respond appropriately when insulin is present.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a more complex problem than type 1, but is sometimes easier to treat, especially in the initial years when insulin is often still being produced internally. Diabetes type 2 may go unnoticed for years in a patient before diagnosis, since the symptoms are typically milder  and can be sporadic. However, severe complications can result from unnoticed diabetes type 2, including blindness, renal failure, wounds that fail to heal, and coronary artery disease. The onset of the disease is most common in middle age and later life.

There is a substantial increase in the diabetes for both Diabetes type 1 and type 2 but a more pronounced increase in Diabetes type 2. The increase is at the rate of about 6% per year, which means the number of people with diabetes will double every 15 years. In the United States this increase is occurring predominately in the non-white ethnic populations.

Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes