Acanthosis Nigricans
A dermatological disorder present in association with endocrine diseases
(i.e., diabetes, obesity, pituitary tumors, or Cushing's disease). It is
characterized by brown, velvety hyperkeratotic patches in the body folds.
Acarbose
A drug used as a treatment for Type 2
(noninsulin-dependent) diabetes; belongs to a class of drugs called
alpha-glucosidase inhibitors.
See also: Oral
hypoglycemic agents.
ACE Inhibitor
A type of drug used to lower blood
pressure. Studies indicate that it may also help prevent or slow the
progression of kidney
disease in people with diabetes.
Acetohexamide
A "first-generation" sulfonylurea pill taken to lower the level of glucose
(sugar) in the blood. Only some people with Type 2 diabetes
take these pills.
See also: Oral
hypoglycemic agents, Sulfonylureas.
Acetone
A chemical formed in the blood when the body uses fat instead of glucose
(sugar) for energy. If acetone forms, it usually means that the cells do not
have enough insulin, or cannot use the insulin that is in the blood, to use
glucose for energy. Acetone passes through the body into the urine. Someone
with a lot of acetone in the body can have breath that smells fruity and is
called "acetone breath."
See also: Ketone
bodies.
Acidosis
Too much acid in the body. For a person with diabetes, this can lead to
diabetic
ketoacidosis.
Acute
Happens for a limited period of time; abrupt onset; sharp, severe.
Adrenal Glands
Two organs that sit on top of the kidneys and
make and release hormones such as adrenalin (epinephrine).
This and other hormones, including insulin,
control the body's use of glucose
(sugar).
Adult-Onset Diabetes
Former term for Type 2
diabetes.
Adverse Effect
A harmful result.
Albuminuria
More than normal amounts of a protein called albumin in the urine.
Albuminuria may be a sign of kidney
disease, a problem that can occur in people who have had diabetes for a
long time.
Aldose Reductase
An enzyme that is normally present in the eye and in many other parts of
the body. It changes glucose
(sugar) into a sugar alcohol called sorbitol.
Too much sorbitol trapped in eye and nerve cells seems to damage these
cells, and may be part of the cause of diabetic
retinopathy and neuropathy.
There are medications
that interfere with aldose reductase.
Aldose Reductase
Inhibitor
A class of drugs that prevent or slow (inhibit) the action of aldose
reductase; are being studied as a way to prevent or delay these
complications of diabetes.
Alpha Cell
A type of cell in the pancreas (in
areas called the islets
of Langerhans). Alpha cells make and release a hormone called glucagon,
which raises the level of glucose
(sugar) in the blood.
See also beta cell;
delta
cell.
Amino Acid
The building blocks of proteins; the main material of the body's cells.
Insulin is
made of 51 amino acids joined together.
Amyotrophy
A type of diabetic
neuropathy that causes muscle weakness and wasting.
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Angiopathy
Disease of the blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries) that
occurs when someone has diabetes for a long time. There are two types of
angiopathy: macroangiopathy and microangiopathy. In macroangiopathy, fat and
blood clots build up in the large blood vessels, stick to the vessel walls,
and block the flow of blood. In microangiopathy, the walls of the smaller
blood vessels become so thick and weak that they bleed, leak protein, and
slow the flow of blood through the body. Then the cells, for example, the
ones in the center of the eye, do not get enough blood and may be damaged.
Anomalies
Birth defects; abnormalities.
Antagonist
One agent that opposes or fights the action of another. For example, insulin
lowers the level of glucose
(sugar) in the blood, whereas glucagon
raises it; therefore, insulin and glucagon are antagonists.
Antibodies
Proteins that the body makes to protect itself from foreign substances.
Occasionally, the body also makes proteins against normal parts of the body.
These proteins are called autoantibodies.
- Exogenous Antibodies: In either
Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, the body sometimes makes antibodies to work
against pork or beef insulins because they are not exactly the same as
human insulin or because they have impurities. These antibodies can keep
the insulin from working well and may rarely cause the person with
diabetes to have an allergic or bad reaction to the beef or pork insulins.
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- Endogenous Antibodies: In Type
1 diabetes, several different autoantibodies against normal tissues are
found. These antibodies are associated with the destruction of the beta
cells of the pancreas, although their exact role is uncertain. Some of
the autoantibodies which are found in diabetes patients include: islet-cell
antibodies (ICAs), anti-insulin antibodies (AIAs), and anti-GAD
antibodies.
Antidiabetic Agent
A substance that helps a person with diabetes control the level of glucose
(sugar) in the blood so that the body works as it should.
See also: Insulin; oral
hypoglycemic agents.
Antigens
Substances that cause an immune response in the body. The body "sees"
the antigens as harmful or foreign. To fight them, the body produces
antibodies, which attack and try to eliminate the antigens.
Antiseptic
An agent that kills bacteria. Alcohol is a common antiseptic. Before
injecting insulin, many
people use alcohol to clean their skin to avoid infection.
Arteriosclerosis
A group of diseases in which the walls of the arteries get thick and
hard. In one type of arteriosclerosis, fat builds up inside the walls and
slows the blood flow. These diseases often occur in people who have had
diabetes for a long time.
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Artery
A large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to other parts of
the body. Arteries are thicker and have walls that are stronger and more
elastic than the walls of veins.
See also: Blood
vessels.
Arthropathy, neuropathic
See Charcot
Foot
Artificial Pancreas
A large machine used in hospitals that constantly measures glucose
(sugar) in the blood and, in response, releases the right amount of insulin.
Scientists are also working to develop a small unit that could be implanted
in the body, functioning like a real pancreas.
Aspartame
A man-made sweetener that people use in place of sugar because it has
very few calories.
Asymptomatic
No symptoms; no clear sign of disease present.
Atherosclerosis
One of many diseases in which fat builds up in the large- and
medium-sized arteries. This buildup of fat may slow down or stop blood flow.
This disease can happen to people who have had diabetes for a long time.
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Autoimmune Disease
Disorder of the body's immune system in which the immune system
mistakenly attacks and destroys body tissue that it believes to be foreign.
Type 1
diabetes is an autoimmune disease because the immune system attacks and
destroys the insulin-producing beta cells.
Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome
A group of autoimmune
disorders that involve endocrine
glands and which result in failure of the glands to produce their hormones.
(Also called autoimmune endocrine failure syndrome, autoimmune polyendocrine
syndrome, and immunoendocrinopathy syndrome.)
- Type I
A disorder that includes
hypoparathyroidism, candidiasis and Addison's disease (adrenal gland
failure). 15% have autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes. It has recently been shown
that there is a mutation in the AIRE (AutoImmune
REgulator) gene on chromosome 21.
- Type II
A disorder in which two
or more autoimmune
conditions are found. 50% show Type 1 autoimmune diabetes and another
associated condition, which may include Addison's disease, the celiac
syndrome, vitiligo, pernicious anemia, myasthenia gravis, Graves' disease,
and others.
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Autonomic Neuropathy
A disease of the nerves affecting mostly the internal organs such as the
bladder muscles, the cardiovascular system, the digestive tract, and the
genital organs. These nerves are not under a person's conscious control and
function automatically. Also called visceral neuropathy.
See also: Neuropathy
and Gastroparesis.
