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Introduction
Type 2 diabetes,
often called non-insulin dependant diabetes, is the
most common form of diabetes. This type is a result
of the pancreas not being able to produce enough
insulin to control the blood sugar levels, or the
patient’s body not being able to utilize the insulin
correctly.
Causes
Type 2 diabetes appears to be caused by genetic
defects that at first make a person not able to
respond to the actions of insulin and, over time,
the beta cells in the pancreas will stop releasing
insulin. However, new evidence points to diet and
lifestyle as important factors that may be
responsible for the development of the disease. A
person over the age of 45 and overweight is a likely
candidate for developing type 2 diabetes.
Symptoms
Initial symptoms of diabetes include frequent
urination, thirst, fatigue, and irritability,
blurred vision , frequent and/or slow-healing
infections (including bladder, vaginal, skin),
erectile dysfunction in men.
Treatment Currently there are 4
classes of prescription drugs available for the
treatment of Type 2 diabetes:
- Oral sulfonylureas (like glimepiride,
glyburide, and tolazamide) trigger the pancreas to
make more insulin.
- Biguanides (glucophage and ,metformin), tell
the liver to decrease its production of glucose,
which increases glucose levels in the blood
stream.
- Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors decrease the
absorption of carbohydrates from the digestive
tract, thereby lowering the after-meal glucose
levels.
- Meglitinides (including repaglinide and
nateglinide) trigger the pancreas to make more
insulin in response to how much glucose is in the
blood.
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