Diabetes

Diabetes is a genetic disease that runs through my family.  It's a group of metabolic diseases in which the individual has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both.  Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty(polydipsia) and hungry(polyphagia).




TREATMENT AND GENETICS:




Unlike some traits, diabetes does not seem to be inherited in a simple pattern. Yet clearly, some people are born more likely to develop diabetes than others.

Type 1 Diabetes

In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk factors from both parents. Statistics show diabetes more common in whites because whites have the highest rate of type 1 diabetes.
Because most people who are at risk do not get diabetes, researchers want to find out what the environmental triggers are.
One trigger might be related to cold weather. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter than summer and is more common in places with cold climates.
Another trigger might be viruses. Perhaps a virus that has only mild effects on most people triggers type 1 diabetes in others.
Early diet may also play a role. Type 1 diabetes is less common in people who were breastfed and in those who first ate solid foods at later agesstands for advanced glycosylation (gly-KOH-sih-LAY-shun) end products. AGEs are produced in the body when glucose links with protein. They play a role in damaging blood vessels, which can lead to diabetes complications.X.
In many people, the development of type 1 diabetes seems to take many years. In experiments that followed relatives of people with type 1 diabetes, researchers found that most of those who later got diabetes had certain autoantibodies in their blood for years before.
(Antibodies are proteins that destroy bacteria or viruses. Autoantibodies are antibodiesproteins made by the body to protect itself from "foreign" substances such as bacteria or viruses. People get type 1 diabetes when their bodies make antibodies that destroy the body's own insulin-making beta cells.X 'gone bad,' which attack the body's own tissues.)

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1, although it too depends on environmental factors.
Studies of twins have shown that genetics play a very strong role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Lifestyle also influences the development of type 2 diabetes. Obesitya condition in which a greater than normal amount of fat is in the body; more severe than overweight; having a body mass index of 30 or more.X tends to run in families, and families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits.
If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it may be difficult to figure out whether your diabetes is due to lifestyle factors or genetic susceptibility. Most likely it is due to both. However, don’t lose heart. Studies show that it is possible to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes by exercising and losing weight.




REFERENCE:  AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION
                          www.diabetes.org