Diabetes (4.1.3)

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What is diabetes mellitus?
Disease where blood glucose concentration can't be effectively controlled due to problems with insulin.
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What is hyperglycaemia?
Condition when the blood glucose concentration is too high.
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What is hypoglycaemia?
The condition when the blood glucose concentration is too low.
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What can big changes in blood glucose concentration lead to?
Damages to blood vessels. Heart disease. Kidney failure. Blindness.
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What is type I diabetes?
Insulin dependent diabetes. Starts in childhood. Auto-immune condition- body's own immune system destroys beta cells. Can be brought on by severe viral infections. Body can't make insulin and so can't convert excess glucose to glycogen.
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What is type II diabetes?
Non-insulin dependent diabetes. Target cells become less responsive to insulin. Typically occurs aged 40+.
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Describe the graph for blood glucose and insulin levels in a diabetic and healthy person.
Healthy-BGC goes up after eating, stimulates insulin release. Insulin levels increase- lowers BGC back to normal. Insulin level decreases. Diabetic person-BGC goes up after eating. Stays high-insulin levels don't increase. Decreases slightly-urinate.
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What are the risk factors of type II diabetes?
Obese people. Apple-shaped people. People with a high-sugar diet. People of Afro-Caribbean/Asian origin. Family history.
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What are the symptoms of diabetes?
Thirst, weight loss, tiredness, thrush, blurred vision.
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Why do diabetics get tired?
Lots of glucose is excreted by kidneys into urine, instead of being converted to glycogen. A while after they've eaten, BGC will fall as glucose is respired or lost in urine. No glycogen stores available- they become hypoglycaemic. Feel tired.
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Why do diabetics get thirsty?
High BGC after eating will lower blood water potential- they become hyperglycaemic. Detected by brain and perceived as thirst. As glucose is lost in urine, water is drawn into urine - osmosis. More water lost from body.
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How can type I diabetes be treated?
Insulin injections. This goes straight into blood and is a protein so would be digested if swallowed. Injected before eating so insulin is ready to work. BCG must be closely monitored.
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How can type II diabetes be treated?
Careful dietary control- high fibre food slows your digestion so BGC increases more slowly. Exercise and maintaining a healthy BMI.
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What are the advantages of using GM insulin from bacteria?
Exact copy of human insulin. Lower risk of infection. Cheaper to make. Can be made on a large scale. Fewer moral objections.
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What are stem cells?
Cells that haven't fully differentiated and are able to divide and specialise into many different cell types.
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How could stem cells be used to treat diabetes?
There are pre-cursor cells found in mice which behave like stem cells. If similar cells are found in human pancreas, they could be used to produce new B-cells. Permanent cure.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is hyperglycaemia?

Back

Condition when the blood glucose concentration is too high.

Card 3

Front

What is hypoglycaemia?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What can big changes in blood glucose concentration lead to?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is type I diabetes?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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