Spotlight on Disease: Type 1 Diabetes

A model of an insulin molecule. Though insulin is an effective treatment for diabetes, it is not a cure. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Type 1 diabetes is an  – a person’s own immune system attacks found in the pancreas. Beta cells normally respond to high levels of sugar in the blood by releasing  a protein hormone that acts like a key binding to a lock (or receptor) that is present on every cell in the body. When insulin binds to its receptor, it unlocks a door in cells that allows this sugar—known as to enter and be used for energy.
Since type 1 diabetics lack insulin-producing beta cells, glucose remains in the blood and cells starve. Even with insulin therapy, the level of blood glucose in type 1 diabetics is not normal. Glucose is a highly reactive molecule that damages the cells and tissues that it contacts, particularly the cells that line blood vessels. As a result, diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney disease, limb amputation and heart disease. Because type 1 diabetes commonly manifests in childhood, it has traditionally been called “juvenile” diabetes. Type 1 diabetes treatment is life-long; diabetics must carefully monitor their blood sugar and receive daily insulin injections or wear an insulin-delivering pump.