What is Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy.
Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.
There are 2 main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes – where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
- Type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin or the body’s cells do not react to insulin
According to the World Health Organisation, 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. 90-95% of cases being type 2 diabetes, meaning their bodies have developed resistance to insulin.
What Causes Diabetes
Diabetes causes vary depending on your genetic makeup, family history, ethnicity, health and environmental factors. There is no common diabetes cause that fits every type of diabetes as the causes of diabetes vary depending on the individual and the type.
For instance; the causes of type 1 diabetes vary considerably from the causes of gestational diabetes. Similarly, the causes of type 2 diabetes are distinct from the causes of type 1 diabetes. In fact, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes causes are very different. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the pancreas cannot produce insulin, whereas type 2 diabetes is the body’s resistance to insulin.
TYPE 1 DIABETES CAUSES
Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system destroying the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. This causes diabetes by leaving the body without enough insulin to function normally.
This is called an autoimmune reaction, or autoimmune cause, because the body is attacking itself.
There is no specific diabetes causes, but the following triggers may be involved:
- Viral or bacterial infection
- Chemical toxins within food
- Unidentified component causing autoimmune reaction
Underlying genetic disposition may also be a type 1 diabetes cause.
TYPE 2 DIABETES CAUSES
Type 2 diabetes causes are usually multifactorial – more than one diabetes cause is involved. Often, the most overwhelming factor is a family history of type 2 diabetes.
This is the most likely type 2 diabetes cause.
There are a variety of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, any or all of which increase the chances of developing the condition.
These include:
- Obesity
- Living a sedentary lifestyle
- Increasing age
- Bad diet
Other type 2 diabetes causes such as pregnancy or illness can be type 2 diabetes risk factors.
Until only recently, the progressive loss of the beta-cells of the pancreas which leads to this metabolic disorder was considered permanent.
Now, thanks to the unique ability of embryonic stem cells to stop auto-immune disorders and trigger repair within all organs of the body, it is possible to reverse the condition and restore all, or part, of the pancreatic functions.
Benefits of Embryonic Stem Cells for Diabetes Treatment
mbryonic stem cells trigger the release of the organ’s own pancreatic stem cells, which become new healthy insulin producing islet clusters within the damaged pancreas.
A study of diabetes treatment published in the journal of Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome reported a reduction in insulin resistance following the transplantation of stem cells in mice, and that insulin resistance in diabetes is caused by chronic inflammatory processes.
The research confirmed that stem cell therapy can alleviate this inflammation by reprogramming the macrophages to avoid the production of inflammatory chemokines, thus reducing insulin-producing cells and reducing insulin resistance, thereby aiding in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Contact Stem Cell Health to learn more about innovative stem cell therapy.