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Article: Diabetes Mellitus
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Aging
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DIABETES MELLITUS
Diabetes mellitus is a failure to control blood sugar levels so that they become too high. It is classified into two categories. Type 1 diabetes (also called juvenile diabetes) is characterized by an acute destruction of insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas by autoantibodies. Insulin is a hormone essential to maintaining
blood sugar
at a normal level. Diabetes results in the abolition of insulin secretion by the pancreas, severe hyperglycemia (
high blood sugar
) and production of ketones. Type 2 diabetes (also called adult onset diabetes) is characterized by a gradually increasing blood sugar level resulting from a combination of resistance to the action of ...