Endocrin Related Disorder

Assignment 5.1: Endocrine-Related Disorders

Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Description of the disorder

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by the production of little or no insulin by the pancreas. The condition is also referred to as juvenile diabetes because it is mostly diagnosed in children and adolescents (Cooke & Plotnick, 2008).

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of blood sugar in the body. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is also referred to as adult-onset diabetes because it commonly starts in middle- and late-adulthood (Cooke & Plotnick, 2008).

Clinical Manifestations

The most common clinical manifestations of type 1 diabetes mellitus are blurred vision, extreme hunger, weakness and fatigue, and increased thirst. Bed-wetting is also a common clinical manifestation in children who previously did not wet the bed during the night.

Clinical manifestations of type 2 diabetes mellitus include increased thirst, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, slow-healing sores, and increased hunger. In children over ten years, the clinical manifestation of type 2 diabetes mellitus involves obesity, presence of glucosuria without ketonuria, and absence or presence of mild polyuria and polydipsia (Reinehr, 2013).

Underlying pathophysiology

In both children and young adults, type 1 diabetes mellitus is a result of the destruction of insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas. As the number of beta-cells decreases, so does the amount of insulin needed to maintain normal blood glucose levels. According to Dib & Gomes ...