There are several types and types of diabetes mellitus, each of which has its own characteristics and differences.
In addition to the well-known names of the types of diabetes mellitus - type 1 and 2 - you can often find other types of diseases that are often confusing. For example, it is not entirely clear what is gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnancy or lada diabetes. So what other types and types of diabetes are there?
Main types
Most often, the terms "diabetes type 1" or "diabetes type 2" can be found in the wording of the diagnosis. It is this classification that determines the disease according to the body's need for insulin.
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the destruction of the specialized beta cells of the pancreas responsible for insulin production. This most often happens when a person is exposed to a viral infection, which is why the immune system begins to produce "aggressors" on the gland cells, which destroy them. As a result, there is a lack of insulin in the blood. Since cells cannot absorb glucose from the blood without such an important hormone as insulin, they literally starve, while "floating" to glucose.
If insulin is introduced into the body from the outside, then the cells will "happily" begin to consume glucose, while the sugar level will normalize. Therefore, type 1 disease is also called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
When the term "non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus" is mentioned, it means type 2 diabetes. Its pathogenesis is based on two key points:
- beta cell pathology;
- Violation of insulin sensitivity by insulin-dependent cells of the body.
This condition develops more often in obese people, because obesity leads to the creation of resistant (immune) cells to the action of insulin. In addition to obesity, glucose absorption is affected by smoking, lack of physical activity and taking certain medications.
Type 3 diabetes
There is type 3 diabetes, which combines the signs of type 1 and 2. Namely, accumulation of fatty tissue in the liver (as in type 2 diabetes) and lack of insulin (as in type 1 diabetes). In life, type 2 diabetes that responds positively to insulin therapy is type 3. But this type is not recognized by the health organization, so all cases are divided into types 1 and 2.
This disease is not uncommon. It is believed that the reason is the increased absorption of iodine in the intestines as a result of its various pathologies. This leads to thyrotoxic type 2 diabetes with a complex pathogenesis. Treatment with it should be significantly different from standard therapy.
hidden form
Latent diabetes mellitus is a condition when glucose from food is slowly absorbed, but insulin production remains at an adequate or elevated level. Clinical latent diabetes does not appear. This form precedes type 2 diabetes. It should be said that the hidden variant of diabetes is pre-diabetes, at this stage it is still possible to influence the state of carbohydrate metabolism.
Latent diabetes can appear for a long time (up to several years). In order to recognize it in time, it is necessary to monitor the blood glucose level frequently, which is especially important for people with predisposing factors (obesity, hypertension and the use of diuretics that reduce potassium levels, polycystic ovary syndrome).
If latent diabetes mellitus is detected in time, then, following simple prevention rules, this form will never turn into type 2 diabetes. To prevent this, you need to increase physical activity, follow a diet, and control blood glucose.
Labile and stable
You may also find the term "stable and labile diabetes". This is what they say about type 1 and type 2 diabetes. These terms mean the clinical course of the disease.
Labile diabetes is characterized by a rather difficult and unpredictable course. Dramatically changes the level of blood sugar during the day, which does not allow you to choose the optimal dose of insulin. With this form, acute and late complications occur more often - ketoacidosis, disorders of the kidneys, organs of vision. The labile form is characteristic of adolescence.
The stable form is characterized by an even course without sudden sugar drops, milder symptoms and a low level of hyperglycemia.
Gestational
Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. Gestations, or in lat. gestatio is pregnancy. The causes of this type of disease have not been reliably determined, but the hormones produced by the placenta and the body of the expectant mother lead to physiological insulin resistance. There are certain factors that lead to the development of gestational diabetes. This includes:
- late pregnancy;
- familial diabetes;
- smoking;
- obesity;
- stillbirth in previous pregnancies.
If a woman follows the doctor's instructions, regularly takes tests, then such an unpleasant disease can be avoided. If diabetes has developed, then adequate insulin therapy and hospitalization are prescribed. The patient is followed by an obstetrician-gynecologist, an endocrinologist, an internist, an ophthalmologist, and a neurologist. After childbirth, as a rule, carbohydrate metabolism returns to normal.
It is important to note that gestational diabetes can persist even after delivery. This diagnosis is valid for 2 months after birth. During that period, the woman should continue the treatment, but with the adjustment of insulin doses, calculated by the doctor or endocrinologist. 2 months after childbirth, a woman undergoes a stress test, which will show whether there is a violation of carbohydrate metabolism. If hyperglycemia is observed, the diagnosis is corrected and appropriate treatment is prescribed.
Lada diabetes
Latent diabetes mellitus, or lada diabetes, is rarely diagnosed due to its latent course. Lada diabetes has characteristics compared to other forms.
- Laboratory tests do not detect this form. The level of glucose on an empty stomach is usually not elevated.
- The first symptoms of the disease appear after 25 years.
- Pregnancy, stress, infectious diseases, rapid weight gain due to adipose tissue can cause clinical signs.
- Lada diabetes occurs most often in people without obesity.
- The symptoms are similar to those of type 2 diabetes, but in a more subtle form.
- Markers of type 1 diabetes can be detected in the patient's blood.
- Lada diabetes is controlled by diet and the intake of hypoglycemic drugs.
To determine the stage of diabetes, specific tests are carried out, which will be discussed in an article dedicated specifically to this condition.
Mody diabetes
Diabetes mellitus mody can rarely be recognized, it is associated with the mutation of certain genes (there are 8 of them). These genes are responsible for the normal structure of insulin or for the optimal development of beta cells. Mody diabetes is characterized as low-progressive, it develops in young people (more often children, adolescents).
Among all patients with diabetes, modi diabetes accounts for 2-5% of cases, but the development of the gestational type is associated precisely with genetic mutations. Diagnosing the type of diabetes reliably is possible only with the help of molecular genetic research.
Flow characteristics of this form:
- occurs in children
- sometimes there is an increase in glucose up to 8 mmol / l;
- no obesity;
- no insulin resistance;
- SD is available in two generations;
- The course is similar to that of type 2 diabetes.
steroid diabetes
Steroid diabetes develops with prolonged use of corticosteroid-based drugs or with hypercortisolism (itsenko-Cushing syndrome or disease). Adrenal hormones have a detrimental effect on the beta cells of the pancreas, resulting in insulin deficiency.
Steroid diabetes mellitus is an insulin-dependent condition. But its clinical course includes some features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In addition, there is a violation of the work of other organs as a result of the action of corticoids. This diabetes is treated as type 2 diabetes.
Pancreas
Pancreatic DM is a secondary disease. It arises as a response to the destruction of the pancreas in pancreatitis, stones in the gall bladder and ducts, after operations on the gland. All these factors lead to a decrease in active beta cells and a lack of insulin. It originates as type 1 diabetes.
Other secondary forms
Diabetes of the adrenal gland, pituitary gland, and thyroid gland occurs against the background of an excessive amount of certain hormones in the blood, which leads to the destruction of cells that produce insulin. The clinic is similar to type 1 diabetes with symptoms of damage to other organs and tissues.