Diabetes and Drug Treatment Research Assgnment Paper

Diabetes and Drug Treatment
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Diabetes and Drug Treatments
Diabetes is a medical condition that develops as a result of abnormal blood glucose levels. The body's blood sugar is the main source of energy. In the case of diabetes, the blood sugar level is higher than normal. Glucose comes from the food, muscles, and the liver and is carried to the rest of the body by the blood. Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, is responsible for the regulation of the body’s blood sugar levels as the blood channels the glucose to various parts of the body cells to act as a source of energy. However, sometimes the body does produce enough insulin or produce insulin, but it does not work properly. As such, glucose stays in the bloodstream and never reaches the various body cells leading to an increase in the blood glucose level hence causing diabetes and other predicaments. To this end, the purpose of this paper will be to highlight the differences between Type 1, Type 2, juvenile and gestational diabetes. In addition, the paper will provide a detailed description of the type of drug use in the treatment of the various types of diabetes including dietary considerations. Finally, the paper will discuss the long and short-term impacts of diabetes and the effect of the drug used in the treatment.
Types of Diabetes
Type I Diabetes/Insulin dependant diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes is common in young people; hence it is often referred to as juvenile diabetes. However, the disorder also develops in adults. In type 1 diabetes, the body system is unable to produce insulin or produces an insufficient amount of insulin because of factors such as the environmental, genetic or the immune system which causes a destruction of the pancreatic beta cells that are involved in the production of insulin. Consequently, there will be an increase in the body's blood glucose because of insufficient insulin that is responsible for the distribution of the glucose to various body cells. About ten percent of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes have type 1 diabetes (Crowe & Julie, 2010).
Type two diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is as a result of insufficient production of insulin, the body resistance to insulin or both. About ninety percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. The disorder, mostly develops in middle or old age. The disorder usually arises when the muscle, fat, and liver cells are unable to use insulin to carry glucose into the body cells for use as energy due to insulin inefficiency or body resistance to insulin. The persistence of the condition over time may result in an increase in the level of blood glucose and eventually diabetes (Campbell & Rubin, 2012).
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)
GDM is a form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. Pregnant women usually produce hormones that result in insulin resistance. High production of insulin resistant hormones may lead to the development of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant women (Canadian Diabetes Association, 2...