Diabetology: diseases — симптомы, диагностика и лечение

Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which cells stop responding normally to insulin and glucose accumulates in the blood. It accounts for the vast majority of all cases of diabetes. Its main feature is its long asymptomatic course: the disease develops over years, and by the time the diagnosis is made, some patients already have complications from the eyes, kidneys and nerves. The good news is that type 2 diabetes is well controlled, and in the early stages, lifestyle changes can bring your levels back to normal.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Unlike type 2 diabetes, it develops quickly, more often in children and young people, and requires insulin from the very beginning - because there is practically no insulin left in the body. It is important for parents to know the first signs: in children, the disease is often recognized only at the stage of ketoacidosis, when the child is admitted to intensive care, although symptoms appeared weeks before.

Polyneuropathy is a multiple lesion of the peripheral nerves, in which the longest fibers going to the feet and hands are affected. Hence the characteristic distribution of symptoms: numbness, burning and tingling begin from the toes and spread upward along the “socks”, later the “gloves” join. Polyneuropathy is not a diagnosis in itself, but a consequence: there is a cause behind it, and the doctor’s main task is to find it. Most often these are diabetes mellitus, vitamin B12 deficiency or alcohol abuse.