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Diabetes mellitus
Make it clearer
Diabetes mellitus is the name for a group of metabolic disorders, that is, disorders in the way the body processes what it eats, and they all end at the same place: glucose, the sugar that travels through the blood, stays high. There are two different roads to that point. In type 1 diabetes, insulin is missing, and without that hormone glucose rises. In type 2 diabetes, tissues respond less to the insulin that is there, and over time production can fall short as well.
They are like two streets that start on opposite corners and feed into the same avenue: on one side, the hormone that is missing; on the other, a body that hears it poorly. And when glucose stays high for a long stretch, it does not just sit there. It can damage the blood vessels it runs through, and the nerves, the eyes, and the kidneys.
In brief
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders in which blood glucose stays elevated.
In type 1 diabetes, a lack of insulin drives blood glucose up. In type 2, tissues respond less well to insulin, and over time insulin production may also fall short. These are two different routes to high blood glucose.
Persistently high blood glucose can damage blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys.
Sources (2)
- World Health OrganizationDiabetesPublished
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesWhat Is Diabetes?
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated