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Diabetes - Long Term Prospects for Diabetes Patients

By: Julia Hanf The long term prospects for a person with diabetes are not set in stone. In many cases, they are a matter of choice.

In order to head off problems, you must understand the possible complications that accompany diabetes and its treatments.

Those taking insulin can experience a low glucose level. Hypoglycemia can lead to several ill effects. In extreme cases, coma is possible. At milder levels, muscle weakness or headache are common.

Missing an insulin dose or having an infection can cause diabetic acidosis-a life threatening condition. Type 1 diabetics are more prone to diabetic acidosis than Type 2 diabetics are.

This occurs because insulin regulates glucose levels and the metabolism of body fat. Your body begins burning fat when your insulin level significantly drops. This leads to ketone-smelling breath. Your body responds with rapid breathing to reduce the problem, but this is only mildly successful.

Long term, diabetic retinopathy - a generation of the retina from damaged blood vessels - is another possibility. Kidney malfunction, as the kidneys come to filter less efficiently due to gradual destruction of the glomeruli, is also common.

But none of these conditions is inevitable, particularly today.

Scientists well-understand the possible complications of diabetes and have developed many tactics for preventing them.

Accurate and careful self-care is the first line of defense. That keeps glucose and insulin levels where they should be, along with keeping the body fit to deal with the rigors of any problems that occur. It helps keep blood pressure in check to avoid long term complications from high blood pressure.

Methods are being developed which go beyond self-care. These methods target the two primary malfunctions of diabetes: insufficient insulin production (Type 1) and inadequate insulin use (Type 2). While there are other types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2 account for 95% of long-term cases. These new methods include organ transplant and gene therapy.

Organ transplant for a diabetic means replacing the malfunctioning pancreas of a Type 1 diabetic with another pancreas. The surgery is done only if other methods of treatment have failed. In the past thirty years, transplant methods have greatly improved. New drugs now can keep the immune system from rejecting the organ. Gene therapy may soon be used to eliminate the need for autoimmune suppression medications.

Beyond being an adjunct in aiding immune system suppression, gene therapy can have a more direct role. Research is being conducted to correct autoimmune disorders, one type of which causes Type 1 diabetes. Even Type 2 diabetes sufferers have hope as well, though.

Gene therapy holds out the promise of being able to adjust the efficiency with which the body uses insulin, the characteristic of Type 2. Gene therapy may be able to affect the gene that controls the production of insulin beta cells.

New research is continually progressing. In the future, this research may lead to better treatments for diabetes or perhaps a cure.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Julia Hanf author of the book How To Play the Diabetes Diet Game and Win Through a real life crisis Julia figured out how to live diabetes free. Visit www.yourdiabetescure.com and learn more about your solution for diabetes.

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