Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in which patients present with absolute or relative insulin deficiency. It affects about 6% of western populations and is a major contributing factor for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and peripheral vascular disease. Diabetes mellitus is also the leading cause of new blindness without a cure.

1. Types of Diabetes
There are four forms of the disease, classified as: types 1 and 2, gestational and other specific types.

a. Type 1 Diabetes
In people with type 1 diabetes the pancreas is not producing insulin, so blood glucose levels are higher than normal. People with this form of diabetes require daily insulin therapy to survive. This form is further split into idiopathic diabetes and immune mediated diabetes.

Type 1 accounts for around 10% to 15% of all people with diabetes. It is one of the most serious and common chronic diseases of childhood, with about half of the people with this form of diabetes developing the disease before age 18. It is also known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes.

b. Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is marked by reduced levels of insulin (insulin deficiency) and/or the inability of the body to use insulin properly (insulin resistance). This form of the disease is most common among people aged 40 years and over and accounts for 85% to 90% of all people with diabetes. Most people with type 2 diabetes are obese.

c. Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy in about 3% to 8% of females not previously diagnosed with diabetes. It is a temporary form of diabetes and usually disappears after the baby is born. However, it is a marker of much greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. Screening tests for gestational diabetes are usually performed around the 24th-28th week of pregnancy.

d. Other Specific Diabetes Types
This includes people who have diabetes as a result of a genetic defect, or exposure to certain drugs or chemicals.

2. Causes of Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is caused by resistance to, or deficient production of, the hormone insulin, which helps glucose move from the blood into the cells.

In type 1 immune mediated diabetes, pancreatic beta cell destruction results in failure to release insulin and ineffective transport of glucose. There is no known cause for idiopathic diabetes.

In type 2 diabetes, the beta cells release insulin but, receptors are insulin resistant and glucose transport is variable and inefficient. Some people may have conditions that can cause diabetes, such as Cushing's syndrome, pancreatitis or liver disease.

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include;
a. Obesity
b. History of Gestational diabetes
c. Lack of physical activity
d. Hypertension
e. Age 45+
f. Ethnic groupings other than anglo-saxon
g. Low HDL cholesterol levels
h. Impaired glucose tolerance
i. Family history

3. Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Symptoms of diabetes include; dehydration, unexplained weight loss, excessive thirst, frequent need to urinate, fatigue, lethargy, severe irritation and itching, excessive hunger, blurred vision, skin and urinary infections and vaginitis.

4. Diagnosis
Diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance may be detected on routine blood tests as part of a general health check up or investigation for other symptoms or diseases. Diabetes tests check blood glucose levels. Someone with a random non fasting blood glucose level greater than 200mg/dl accompanied by other symptoms, or someone with a fasting blood glucose level greater than 126mg/dl can be diagnosed with diabetes.

Because symptoms can be mild, diabetes is often detected when a person suffers a problem that is caused by diabetes, such as a heart attack, stroke, neuropathy, poor wound healing or a foot ulcer, certain eye problems, certain fungal infections, or delivering a baby with macrosomia or hypoglycemia.

5. Diabetes Treatment
Effective treatment endeavors to normalize blood glucose and reduce complications using insulin replacement, diet and exercise. For those with very mild diabetes, diet plus weight loss plus exercise may be enough to keep blood glucose within reasonable levels.

Dietary changes should focus on the ideas of weight loss and blood sugar regulation by keeping the blood sugar levels relatively stable throughout the day, avoiding big peaks or troughs. Interestingly a number of people have experienced considerable benefit from the use of Lifewave acupuncture patches.

The principal treatment of type 1 diabetes, even from its earliest stages, is replacement of insulin combined with careful monitoring of blood glucose levels using blood testing monitors.

Type 2 diabetes may require oral anti-diabetic drugs to stimulate the body's insulin production and increase insulin sensitivity. Various forms of natural supplements for diabetes treatment have also been postulated as effective.

People with unstable diabetes, or those requiring many injections a day, may benefit from an insulin pump which is worn on the body and delivers a continuous infusion of insulin via a needle implanted into the body.

Gestational diabetes is fully treatable but requires careful medical supervision throughout the pregnancy. Even though it may be transient, untreated gestational diabetes can damage the health of the fetus or the mother.

Treatment for all forms of diabetes need not significantly impair normal activities, if sufficient patient training, awareness, appropriate care, discipline in testing and dosing of insulin is taken

6. Complications
Diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of adult kidney failure worldwide in the developed world. If undetected or poorly controlled, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, lower limb amputation, heart attack, stroke and impotence.

Dick Aronson has been involved in the healthcare industry for 35 years. He has written numerous articles on the subject and runs a number of informative websites,viz: http://www.life-wave-patches.com and http://www.healthinnovationsonline.com

For years now countless billions have been spent on Diabetes research, and everyone who has been involved in this research hoped to be able to find the magical cure that would help all those that suffer with the dreaded diabetes disease.

Doctors have known for years about Diabetes and they know how to treat it. They know that it’s the pancreas that begins to fail in the production of natural insulin. But have you asked yourself why the pancreas stops working in the first place?

I’m sure the drug companies that make all the medication for diabetics are laughing all the way to the bank as they know with the present trend things will get worse rather than better.

Diabetes information is clear cut and as you get older there’s a good chance you will have some form of Diabetes that will drastically alter your life. It is also a fact of life that obesity is on the up as more people and children become overweight the more chance that they will become Diabetic.

Being a diabetic means that you have to monitor what you eat and should your situation become serious you will have inject insulin several times a day. Then you begin to live with the fear of having cardiovascular problems or maybe high blood pressure. It may be the case that you get kidney problems or liver failure, and then to cap it all your eyesight gets worse to the point you need new glasses every six months.

Going back to Diabetes research I did come across a website that asked the same question I asked earlier. Why does the pancreas stop working in the first place? Is it to do with pollution or preservatives or the lifestyle we lead? Perhaps it’s the lack of exercise or those dreaded e numbers that everyone is talking about?

The person that gave the answer to that first question gave a very plausible answer saying that it was the actual food we were eating. Straight away my mind went into overdrive because this last few decades we have all been told that certain foods are good for you only to be told later the opposite. This Diabetes research has also helped people with Cancer and Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s Osteoporosis and many more diseases that before have been proved to be incurable. For diabetic’s they were able to drastically reduce their reliance on insulin all from watching what they ate.

Researching and Treating Diabetes
Diabetes is a problem that affects so many people, both in the U.S. and worldwide, surprisingly, however, very little is known about the disease. There are a number of organizations that are researching exactly what causes diabetes, as well new and better methods for controlling it, monitoring blood sugar levels, getting insulin into the blood, newer medicines to correct the problems and even how to stop it before it starts.

There are numerous groups and organizations involved in research such as the FDA, the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation, or DAREF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Diabetes Research Institute and the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation and many, many others, in the United States, Great Britain, Australia and many other countries.

• A vaccination against the autoimmune response that causes type 1 diabetes. Testing is currently being carried out on animals.
• Genetic engineering to make liver cells that produce insulin. Although insulin is produced there is no internal control mechanism as there is with the pancreas, so the insulin levels from such cells remains constant regardless of the body's requirement for this hormone.
• Stem cells are the very basic building blocks of the human body and have the ability to develop into any kind of cell. It is possible that researchers will find a way to use stem cells to make insulin producing cells to replace those that have been damaged by the autoimmune problem that causes type 1 diabetes.
• Immunoassay for type 1 diabetes.
• The impact of exercise training for those with diabetes.
• A recent report that transplanted pig cells have been successful in reversing diabetes in test monkeys.
• Arterial issues.
• Enhancing the cell survival of important agents in diabetes.
• A type 1 diabetes medication that helps the beta cells in the pancreas to live longer, the loss of the beta cells is one thoughts of causes of type 1 diabetes, is currently underway by the Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation (DAREF) that may prove to help patients create insulin on their own, thus reducing the dependence on outside sources of insulin
Other research currently underway is the use of cinnamon to lower blood sugar levels. Dr. Richard Anderson at the United States Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Resource Center has been able to effectively isolate a compound in cinnamon that causes lowered blood sugar.

The reason that cinnamon is so helpful to someone with diabetes is the way that it inhibits enzymes in the body that may be responsible to insulin resistance. This is especially noteworthy to those who are afflicted with Type II diabetes and have insulin resistance problems. Cinnamon also was shown to increase the body's sensitivity to insulin causing insulin to be used more efficiently.

If you or someone you know is afflicted with this chronic illness, funding a research team may allow you to benefit immediately and enable you to play a role in research and the treatment of the millions of other diabetes sufferers in the world.

A couple of the more recent treatments currently in trials are - A medicine that is based on the saliva of a venomous lizard - the Gila monster. The drug containing this new treatment is delivered by injection in much the same way as insulin; however the early trials have seen many participants withdraw because of an increase in side effects when compared to those caused by insulin. All research so far undertaken has been sponsored by the pharmaceutical company that produces this drug.

Another new treatment going through trials is the delivery of insulin through inhalation. The insulin is prepared in a dry micro fine powder form which is inhaled directly into the lungs from where it is absorbed into the blood stream.