By Types of Diabetes

With the improvement of living standards, the prevalence of diabetes is on the rise all over the world. It has become another non communicable chronic disease that seriously endangers human health.

What is Diabetes

The main types of diabetes include type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) and other special types of diabetes. The T2DM is the main disease, accounting for about 95%.

• Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
  T1DM is a genetic and immune disruption autoimmune disease that results in massive β-cell destruction. It is recognized to result from a complex interplay between environmental factors and microbiome, genome, metabolism, and immune systems that vary between individual cases.
• Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
  T2DM is characterised by relative insulin deficiency caused by pancreatic β-cells dysfunction and insulin resistance in target organs. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults.
• Gestational Diabetes
  Gestational diabetes (GDM) is the third main form, and occurs when pregnant women without a previous history of diabetes develop high blood sugar levels. Risk factors include being overweight, previously having gestational diabetes, a family history of type 2 diabetes, and having polycystic ovarian syndrome. In women with gestational diabetes, blood sugar usually returns to normal soon after delivery.

The Immunopathogenesis of T1DM (Linda, A. D.; et al. the lancet, 2018)

Therapies of Diabetes

• Cell and Gene Therapy
  Cell and gene therapy has always been considered as the ultimate means to "cure" diabetes. It is transplanted into the body through transplantation techniques to replace those normal or abnormally dead β-cells.
• Hypoglycemic Therapy
  T2DM is a heterogeneous and progressive disease with a variety of causative and potentiating factors. The hyperglycemia of T2DM is often inadequately controlled, hence the need for a wider selection of glucose-lowering treatments.
• Antibodies Therapy
  Insulin acts by binding to the insulin receptor (INSR) on the cell surface, a process that activates cell signaling. In humans, autoantibodies to the INSR typically bind at the insulin binding site. And these antibodies block insulin binding, causing severe insulin resistance. Antibody therapy could treat diabetes by improving the condition.