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Diabetes, Is Pancreas Transplants a Choice
There are many medications available to help control Type 2 diabetes. Insulin is used to control some Type 2 and all of Type 1 cases. Researches are making strides in more effective ways of delivering insulin. The public is being educated about the many complications that go with the disease. The complications are severe and chronic.
Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin, exercise, and a special diabetic diet. Type 2 diabetes starts out being treated with weight loss, diabetic diet, and exercise. If blood sugar levels are not controlled, oral medications are used, and if they are not effective, then insulin is prescribed. The definition of diabetes is abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood. Our bodies make insulin with the pancreas that naturally lowers the blood sugar levels. If the pancreas doesn't create enough insulin, or the body doesn't absorb it, then artificial insulin must be delivered to the body. Symptoms are increased need to urinate, thirst, hunger; often weight loss is associated with diabetes, and fatigue.
Doctors are working at preventing diabetes, educating the public about the deadly complications, and controlling diabetes for those who already have it. You can prevent or reduce the risk of getting diabetes by avoiding foods high in fat, refined sugar, simple carbohydrates, and eating more fresh vegetables, fruit, and fiber. Exercise helps reduce your chances of getting diabetes. Even a small amount of exercise is better than no exercise at all. A 20-minute walk three days a week, no matter what speed will help keep blood sugar levels low.
Insulin is given to control Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Another form of therapy is a pancreas transplant. Several different methods of transplanting this organ are being studied. The possibilities of transplanting a portion of the pancreas or even the beta cells that are responsible for producing insulin are being looked at. Nearly 8000 patients have had pancreas transplants, many of them the same time a kidney transplant is performed. With new technology developed every day, the number of pancreas transplants will grow in the next few years.
As with any surgery, there are risks. The medications used to keep the body from rejecting the transplants also are a risk to the patient. There is also the chance that diabetes will occur in the transplanted pancreas. There is always a chance of rejection of the transplanted organs. Researchers are looking at artificial barriers that can be used around the transplanted cells to protect them against rejection. The barrier would still need the insulin to be delivered to the body and protect the new transplant.
Researchers are studying the risks involved in doing only a pancreas transplant when the kidney is not replaced. The issue is whether the risks involved are worth the surgery.
There have been remarkable new discoveries and scientists are finding new ways to control diabetes daily. The best you can do for your body is to do everything possible to prevent diabetes before it develops. Age and obesity are prominent causes of diabetes. Exercise, regular sleeping habits, and a nutritious diet will help protect you against diabetes.
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