Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system, which normally protects
us from infections, begins to attack the beta cells of the pancreas. Beta
cells are special cells that produce a hormone called insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that is essential to the body to convert glucose from food into energy. A trigger tricks the immune system into thinking that the beta cells are foreign to the body and starts to destroy them, causing a decrease in insulin production. Lack of insulin causes the blood glucose level to rise and the person becomes unwell with the symptoms of diabetes which may include excessive thirst, excessive urination, weight loss, dehydration and tiredness. It can take from a few weeks to a few years for all of the beta cells to be destroyed.
Some people inherit the genes which make them more likely to get diabetes. Diabetes only develops in these people when a trigger occurs which starts the immune system damaging the pancreas. These triggers are believed to be factors in the environment which are harmless to most people for example common viruses or things that we eat. Nutritional factors considered important include cow’s milk protein. The trigger may be different for different people and are still not well understood. If the environmental factors could be identified and eliminated, it might be possible to decrease the number of children who develop type 1 diabetes. (Exert taken from “Caring for Diabetes in Children and Adolescents” A Parent’s Manual)
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