The occurrence of diabetes of any type is due to the fact that glucose is not completely or partially absorbed by the human body, which leads to many unpleasant and sometimes irreversible consequences. Under normal conditions, the pancreas (PZH) automatically releases the hormone insulin into the bloodstream as soon as glucose appears in the blood, and the cells of the body use it to "absorb" sugar. In diabetics, this process is disturbed for various reasons.
Type 1 diabetes
Typically, type 1 diabetes occurs during infancy and adolescence. The pancreas stops producing insulin because the beta cells of the "islets of Langerhans" in which it is produced die totally or partially. Sometimes clinical type 1 diabetes begins after severe viral infections, scientists say the fault of the immune system is to blame for this "failure".
Some dangerous viruses are very similar in structure to pancreatic beta cells and the immune system destroys them along with foreign viruses. It is impossible to restore insulin-producing cells, so for a diabetic, the only way to improve metabolism is lifelong blood sugar control and timely insulin administration.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adulthood and old age. Very often, its appearance is associated with obesity, although sometimes it also occurs with a hereditary predisposition, as well as after taking certain medications. Type 2 diabetes can develop against the background of chronic diseases of the pancreas or during pregnancy. Even if the pancreas of these patients produces enough insulin, it is slower than necessary. Therefore, the cells do not have time to use all the glucose and its level increases.
The second reason for high blood sugar in type 2 diabetes is a decrease in tissue sensitivity to the hormone insulin. Doctors call this disorder "insulin resistance". Simply put, they don't have the normal amount of it, which is mostly associated with obesity.
Gestational Diabetes
One type of type 2 diabetes is gestational diabetes or gestational diabetes. The pancreas of a pregnant woman produces a normal amount of insulin, but the sensitivity of tissues to it is reduced due to the presence of "pregnancy hormones" in the blood. It usually occurs between 20 and 24 weeks and continues until delivery, after which the metabolism improves on its own. However, sometimes, under the guise of gestational diabetes, DM 1 begins, and it also happens that against the background of pregnancy DM 2 appears, the presence of which the woman did not suspect.