Can you imagine every morning waking up, knowing
that you must face taking a shot of insulin just to stay alive? Well,
I can. I have insulin dependent diabetes. The syringe I just
described is real to me. I need the insulin to keep my blood glucose
under control.
Diabetes is a disease of abnormal carboydrate
metabolism in which glucose/sugar cannot enter the cells and be utilized;
therefore it remains in the blood in high amounts. If insulin
is not injected into the diabetic person, their blood will become acidic,
causing great illness and even death.
Researchers are very close to creating a normal
simulation of insulin production, through the use of an insulin pump.
The insulin pump provides a close to normal insulin secretion.
Presently, scientists are experimenting with
pancreas transplants, but this is mainly for the diabetic whose condition
has seriously affected their life.
There can be many complications that will affect
a diabetic's life, from not maintaining their blood glucose. Some
complications include: kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, exterior
nerve damage that can result in the loss of a limb, and much, much more.
Diabetes in kids is too common.
One in every 600 children is diagnosed with the disease. In
California alone, the juvenile diabetes death rate is approximately
1,000 per year, out of 90,000 young people presently diagnosed with disease.
To me, that is a LOT of children dying due to DIABETES every
year!
The ideal approach is to find a way to stop
people from getting diabetes. Diabetes
is NOT contagious! Most people have diabetes due to their genes.
At this point, there isn't any promising evidence for preventing the onset
of diabetes any time soon.
Researchers are looking into transplanting
normal islets as replacements for the damaged or destroyed beta cells of
the diabetic. Ten years ago, transplants of islets in rat's who were
bred with diabetes were shown to reverse the diabetic state to normal.
The islet transplants also prevented, or reversed,
early complications from diabetes. That involved the eye or kidney
in these animals.
An unexpected and promising development occurred
during the past decade while islets were successfully transplanted between
strains of animals, without the use of immuno-supressive drugs.
Researchers treated the islets before the transplant to destroy or alter
the white blood cells that prevent people from illness.
The potential for curing diabetes using pancreas
transplants, islet transplants, or an implantable artificial pancreas,
is real. Our advances in understanding diabetes are phenomenal.
Opportunities also exist for basic research
into the causes of islet deterioration in diabetics, and techniques for
the prevention of the destruction of transplanted islets.
As we push forward, we may find the cure, or
a way to prevent this life altering disease through trial and error,
from affecting so many people.
My commitment at this moment is to maintain
a healthy lifestyle by working hard to keep my blood glucose under control.
So I can be one of the lucky few who will go on, and take part in the research
that will provide the knowledge needed for finding the cure.
As James Joyce wrote,
"Mistakes are portals of discovery."
THINK ABOUT IT.
If there are approximately 90,000 juvenile
diabetics just in California alone...
Then how many diabetics are there in the United
States?
Waiting..................................for
the cure?
Thank you.
Krystle
