BRAINCAKEType I Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The body's own immune system destroys the insulin-secreting beta (β) cells in the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. Without insulin, blood glucose concentration cannot be lowered after a meal.
At present, patients inject insulin several times a day and must monitor their blood glucose. This does not match insulin release to need as precisely as working beta cells, so there is a risk of hypoglycaemia and of long-term damage to eyes, kidneys and nerves.
Islet transplants from dead donors can free some patients from injections, but donors are scarce and patients must take immunosuppressant drugs for life.
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Key terms in this lesson
- autoimmune disease
- A disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the body's own cells or tissues.
- islets of langerhans
- Groups of hormone-secreting cells in the pancreas, including insulin-secreting beta cells and glucagon-secreting alpha cells.
- hypoglycaemia
- An abnormally low blood glucose concentration.
More in Gene Expression
- Potential Benefits of Stem Cell Therapy
- Pitfalls of Stem Cell Therapy
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
- Diseases that Could Be Treated
- Damaged Nerves
- Organs for Transplants
- Stem Cell Success
- Ethical Questions
All 39 lessons in Gene Expression · All Edexcel A-level Biology topics