Diabetes
- Diabetes is a common disease in which a person has a high blood glucose level
- Type 1 diabetes:
- This is a disorder in which the pancreas fails to produce sufficient insulin to control blood glucose levels
- Uncontrolled high blood glucose levels characterise type 1 diabetes
- Cause:
- Scientists think this is a result of a person’s immune system destroying the cells of the pancreas that make insulin
- Treatment:
- Type 1 diabetes is normally treated with insulin injections several times a day
- Diet needs to be controlled, such as limiting simple carbohydrates which are converted quickly into glucose and cause blood sugar levels to rapidly rise
- A pancreas transplant can be a treatment for people with Type 1 diabetes, although this is not a common procedure and is used when someone has other complications
- Type 2 diabetes:
- The body cells no longer respond to insulin produced by the pancreas - the person still makes insulin but their cells are resistant to it and don’t respond as well as they should
- This can also lead to uncontrolled high blood glucose levels
- Cause:
- Obesity is a big risk factor for Type 2 diabetes; probably because a person who is obese may consume a diet high in carbohydrates, and over-production of insulin results in resistance to it developing
- Treatment:
- A carbohydrate-controlled diet and an exercise regime are common treatments for Type 2 diabetes
Detecting diabetes
- Diabetes can be detected by the presence of glucose in urine (as excess urine is excreted from the body rather than being stored in the liver as glycogen)
- This can be investigated practically using Benedict's solution
Method:
- Add equal volumes of an artificial urine sample and Benedict's solution to a test tube
- Gently heat the solution for five minutes
- If glucose is present, the solution will turn from blue to orange
- Repeat for other artificial urine samples
Testing artificial urine diagram
Samples of artificial urine can be tested for the presence of glucose using Benedict's solution
