Medical Clinic

People suffering from Diabetes have either the lack of insulin or decreased insulin activity. Insulin is a vital hormone and functions of insulin are essential for life. It is a polypeptide hormone produced by beta cells of islets of Langerhans in Pancreas. It plays an important role in energy metabolism and general growth and development of our body.  Insulin acts in conjunction with Glucagon and other body hormones to maintain the blood glucose levels. Suboptimal glucose levels lead to either hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia both having profound implications on overall health and well being.

Diabetics use Insulin daily. So its important to know basics like - what exactly is Insulin? Here we will discuss about it and other Insulin basics like - How is it produced in our body? What are its sources  and the differences between Human and Animal Insulin and get to know its structure. What is Insulin? Insulin is a polypeptide hormone secreted by Beta cells of Pancreas. Hormone is a vital substance produced in one part of the body transported through blood to act on the same or another part to alter (either increase or decrease) its functional activity. Peptide means a protein molecule made up of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Polypeptide indicates that it is made up of more than one peptides (see below).

We will discuss - What is Prediabetes? Who is at risk, how to prevent Prediabetes? What is Prediabetes? Prediabetes - As the name suggests, Prediabetes is a stage prior to full blown onset of Diabetes. It is based on the glucose levels in the blood. When blood glucose, tested by Fasting Plasma Glucose or Oral Glucose Tolerance Test are found to be higher than normal but below Diabetes levels, the condition is called Prediabetes. This term is synonymous with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) , but now preferred over IGT for easy understanding. Prediabetes - Facts

Diabetes is not all gloom and doom. There are some positive things about Diabetes. Knowing them helps one cope better. Obviously there are many health related positives like weight loss, regular diet, but there is more to it than just health. Let's look at some key takeaways about Diabetes. Diabetes can benefit all including you, your family and your community or a social circle.

Complications of  Diabetes Mellitus  are serious and well known. Spectrum of Diabetic complications is vast, from being most trivial to life threatening.  Long term Diabetics are at very high risk of complications if they lack blood sugar control (more likely) and sometimes even otherwise (less likely). High BP and Cholesterol are the other two major harbingers. Inevitably Diabetics fall prey to its complications after several long yrs.  According to WHO,  Diabetes is predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030. Total deaths from diabetes are projected to rise by more than 50% in the next 10 years.   Hence its very essential to have   proper   understanding and accurate knowledge of when to seek medical intervention. Specifically those who have co-existing diseases like Hypertension , Thyroid disorders or Heart diseases or Kidney problems  are at increased risk and should exercise extreme caution and follow the medical advice diligently. 

Type 2 diabetes is much more common than Type 1 Diabetes . It is relatively well known. Type 2 Diabetes accounts for nearly 90-95% of cases of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). It affects both men and women with slight bias towards elderly males. Criteria for diagnosis   includes blood sugar testing and measuring HBA1c levels. Age of onset :- Type 2 DM is a disease primarily affecting middle aged and elderly people. As per ADA (American Diabetes Association) , as much as 27% of elderly individuals (age >65)  are affected with Diabetes. But recently a rising trend has been observed in younger population especially among Obese Adolescents . 

Diabetes Mellitus is of 2 types - Type 1  Diabetes   and Type 2  Diabetes . Whenever people talk about Diabetes in common parlance, almost every time they intend to speak about type 2 Diabetes because Type 2 Diabetes is much more common and known to people, than is type 1. Both have very different causes and treatment plans, prevention aspects also vary significantly. So its essential to understand the difference between the two. Type 1 Diabetes and its monikers -   Early onset Diabetes Mellitus / Ju venile onset Diabetes Mellitus   Insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM)   Auto immune Diabetes mellitus

Different types of Cancers Cancer is a very broad topic. It involves numerous types all of which have extremely diverse causes, signs and symptoms, pathological features & require specific investigations and treatment. We will discuss about the 10 most common types of cancers based on their prevalence worldwide. Along with it, the important subtypes that form the vast majority of cases. Cancer involves almost all organs and tissues, hence cancer typing is based on the specific organ it affects. ex. Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Skin Cancer, etc. Further subtyping is done according to the cell line which is defective. ex Small cell cancer, B cell Lymphoma, Granulosa cell tumor, Germ cell tumor, etc.

Early diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus and its treatment is very important. Typically the course of diabetes is chronic but without early treatment, chances of developing complications early is significant. Diabetes treatment is a lifetime affair but if managed and followed well, there is little or no deterioration in the quality of life for a long period. Principles of treatment of Diabetes Mellitus :- 1) Control of hyperglycemia and related symptoms. 2) Reduce or eliminate the complications 3) Allow the patient to achieve a normal lifestyle.

Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus is based on testing of Glucose tolerance . Degree of glucose tolerance is determined by a fixed criteria. Based upon the degree of tolerance, results are grouped as normal glucose homeostasis, impaired glucose homeostasis or Diabetes Mellitus . Impaired glucose hemostasis is a condition also popularly known as Pre-Diabetes , Impaired Fasting Glucose IFG , Intermediate Hyperglycemia (WHO). The tests have to be often repeated once or twice to confirm the diagnosis as the disease has profound implications on future lifestyle of the patient.   Who should be be tested? Screening is recommended in following conditions.

After knowing the basics about cancer , lets move on to the main causes of cancer . What are the main reasons behind such uncontrolled proliferation of cells? Normally division of cells is under control of  various genes which are known as tumor suppressor genes. There are also other counterparts which promote cell proliferation known as Proto-oncogenes . But both those processes are well regulated and there are multiple checks which prevent or repair the damage. Hence for cancer to occur there has to be some defect in either Tumor Suppressor Genes or Proto-Oncogenes .

     Skin Cancer (credit :about-child.com) What is Cancer? Cancer is like a modern day pandemic. Pandemic is a type of epidemic which transcends continents. There are innumerable types of cancers. Lack of knowledge about cancer is a major problem.  Early diagnosis and treatment is of paramount importance and can make a difference between life and death. Through this series of posts about cancer, we intend to provide our users with all the information they need to understand prevent cancer.

We discussed in our previous post about  what exactly is Diabetes? So now lets discuss what are the main signs and symptoms of  Diabetes Mellitus . How does it manifest? We know it causes derangement in sugar levels of the body. Sugar, principally  Glucose  is the main source of energy for our body. But both increased glucose ( Hyperglycemia ) and decreased glucose ( Hypoglycemia ) levels in blood are harmful to many organs.  In Diabetes, lack of insulin causes hyperglycemia responsible for most of the signs and symptoms. Hypoglycemia occurs in Diabetics due to medications and inappropriate dietary habits.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a long standing disease affecting middle aged to elderly people. It  doubles the risk of having other Heart Diseases , Renal Failure  and  Peripheral Arterial Disease . Large proportion of people suffering from high blood pressure remain untreated. About 1 billion people today suffer from hypertension & by 2025, it is estimated every 1 in 4 people will be suffering from it. Approximately 8 million people die annually due to hypertension. According to Pubmed , " Blood pressure (BP) is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body ." It  varies according to the state of heart, contracting or relaxing, hence it is recorded in form of 2 measurements known as systolic, when the heart is contracting and diastolic when its relaxing. Normal blood pressure is 120 systolic, 80 diastolic written as 120/80.

Sugar and Diabetes Diabetes  is the one of the most common diseases worldwide. It has a long course and stays with the patient almost all through his/her life, although many diabetic patients have prolonged symptom free periods but complete cure in most cases remains elusive. One good thing about it is if kept in control, symptom free periods can be long &  patients life remains absolutely normal. To begin with diabetes, few terms need to be understood. Diabetes - When we say Diabetes, we intend to say  Diabetes Mellitus . There's another disease called  Diabetes Insipidus  which has a different cause and a different pathology. Diabetes Mellitus  is disease where your body (blood and urine) sugar levels get deranged (hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia) due to lack of an hormone named Insulin. Insulin also has other functions hence diabetes can present with a variety of  symptoms and signs .