diabetes

• WordNet 3.6
  • n diabetes a polygenic disease characterized by abnormally high glucose levels in the blood; any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive urination and persistent thirst
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• Interesting fact: Due to eating habits in the USA, one in three children born in the year 2000 have a chance of getting type II diabetes
• • n diabetes (Med) Any of several diseases which is attended with a persistent, excessive discharge of urine; when used without qualification, the term usually refers to diabetes mellitus. The most common form is diabetes mellitus, in which the urine is not only increased in quantity, but contains saccharine matter, and the condition if untreated is generally fatal.☞ The two major subtypes recognized are diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus. In diabetes insipidus there is excretion of large amounts of urine of relatively low density, accompanied by extreme thirst, but the urine contains no abnormal constituent. The more serious form diabetes mellitusfrom Latin mellitus, sweetened with honey) is a metabolic disease in which the utilization of carbohydrate is reduced and that of lipids and proteins is increased. This form is caused by a deficiency in insulin (which is mostly formed in the pancreas), and may be accompanied by glucosuria, hyperglycemia, elecrolyte loss, ketoacidosis, and sometimes coma. It has severe long-term effects, including damage to the nerves, the retina, and the kidney, and degeneration of blood vessels which may lead to poor circulation, especially in the limbs, subsequent infection, and eventual loss of limbs. Diabetes mellitus itself has recognized variants, being divided into insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is also called adult-onset diabetesabbreviated NIDDM), and is the less severe form of diabetes mellitus, occurring mostly in obese individuals over the age of 35. It may be treated by diet and oral hypoglycemic agents, though occasionally serious degenerative effects may develop. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (abbreviated IDDM), also called type I diabetes, is a severe form of the disease, usually starting when the affected person is young (hence also called juvenile-onset diabetes). In addition to the increased urine (polyuria) common to all forms of diabetes, this form is characterized by low levels of insulin in the blood, ketoacidosis, increased appetite, and increased fluid intake, and may lead to weight loss and eventually the severe degenerative effects mentioned above. Treatment requires administration of insulin and careful regulation of the diet.
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• Interesting fact: The number one cause of blindness in adults in the United States is diabetes
• • n diabetes In pathology, the name of two different affections, diabetes mellitus, or persistent glucosuria, and diabetes insipidus, or polyuria, both characterized in ordinary cases by an abnormally large discharge of urine. The former is distinguished by the presence of an excessive quantity of sugar in the urine, and to it there is a strong tendency to restrict the name. Light and evanescent grades of glucosuria are not considered as diabetes, and doubtless frequently have an entirely different causation. The disease is chronic and generally fatal. Its essential pathology is unknown. It is not an affection of the kidneys, but depends upon the accumulation of sugar in the blood, or glucohemia. (See glucosuria.) Diabetes insipidus, or polyuria, is characterized by the discharge of abnormally large quantities of ordinary or watery urine.
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• Interesting fact: Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for about 180,000 deaths per year
• • n Diabetes dī-a-bē′tēz a disease marked by a morbid and excessive discharge of urine
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