Question

Define diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, diabetic coma, retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy. 1. gastroparesis 2. Compare type I and Il diabetes. 3. What are the risk factors for type II diabetes? 4. Describe the 4 lab tests used to diagnose diabetes. What results are indicative of diabetes? What makes HbA1c "unique"?

Answer 1

Answer 1: Diabetes Mellitus- It is basically a metabolic disorders which can be characterized by increased blood sugar concentrations and disturbed insulin metabolism.
Prediabetes-Prediabetes is the state of having plasma glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It generally occurs in individuals who have metabolic defects which would often lead to type 2 diabetes
Diabetic Coma- a coma that occurs in uncontrolled diabetes; may be due to diabetic ketoacidosis, the hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome, or severe hypoglycemia. Diabetic coma was a frequent cause of death before insulin was routinely used to manage diabetes.
Retinopathy- A complication of diabetes that affects the eyes.
Neuropathy- Weakness, numbness, and pain from nerve damage, usually in the hands and feet.
Nephropathy- when the kidneys start to incur damage, which can ultimately lead to kidney failure.
Gastroparesis- delayed stomach emptying; most often a consequence of diabetes, gastric surgery, or neurological disorders.

Answer 2: Type 1 Diabetes: autoimmune, destruction of beta cells= no insulin production, seen in children

Type 2 Diabetes: insulin resistant, seen later in life, overweight/obese people.

Answer 3: Following are the risk factors for type II diabetes:

Age over 45
Being overweight
family history of diabetes
physical inactivity
race
glucose levels

Answer 4: Generally four lab tests are used for the diagnosis of diabetes:

plasma glucose concentration
- plasma glucose concentration is 126 mg/dL or higher after a fast of at least 8 hours
- plasma glucose concentration of a random, or casual, blood sample (that is, obtained from a nonfasting individual) is 200 mg/dL or higher
- plasma glucose concentration measured 2 hours after a 75-gram glucose load is 200 mg/dL or higher

The HbA1c level is 6.5 percent or higher
- Because the red blood cells in a blood sample used for an HbA1c test are a mixture of cells of different ages, the test gives a "weighted" average of recent blood glucose levels
- HbA1c test results are given as a percentage that indicates the percentage of your HbA1c molecules that are linked to glucose molecules