Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of carbohydrate (sugar) metabolism in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin is impaired resulting in high levels of glucose. There are two main types of Diabetes mellitus, type 1 and 2, and other forms of diabetes like gestational, maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY) and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of adults (LADA).
The human body has several ways of regulating and metabolizing glucose (sugar) and other key nutrients. When glucose is absorbed from the gut it goes through the liver and pancreas, stimulating release of insulin from the pancreas and reduction in glucagon secretion. Insulin acts on muscle and fat cells to increase absorption and breakdown of glucose, a process called glycolysis, and stimulates synthesis of glycogen, which is stored in muscles for later energy expenditure.
The main functions of insulin include:
Increased glucose uptake into fat and muscle cells
Increase breakdown of Glucose in cells (Glycolysis)
Stimulation of Glycogen synthesis (energy stored in muscle cells for later use)
Inhibit breakdown of Glycogen (in muscle cells)
Inhibit synthesis of glucose from other precursors (Gluconeogenesis)
As mentioned above, the main function of insulin is to keep glucose levels within a normal range. In Diabetes Mellitus there is absolute and/or relative insulin deficiency (type 1 and type 2, respectively) resulting in high levels of glucose in circulating blood.
