Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes, in general, is the body's inability to regulate insulin, and as a result, blood sugar levels. It directly affects the pancreas, the organ in the body that facilitates insulin production as one of its functions. The two most common types of diabetes are insulin-dependent-diabetes-melittus (IDDM) or Type 1 Diabetes, sometimes referred to as juvenile onset diabetes, and non-insulin-dependent-diabetes-melittus (NIDDM) or Type 2 Diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts for only 5-10% of all diabetes case whereas Type 2 diabetes accounts for the vast majority (90-95%) of the cases.

The causes of diabetes metillitus are relatively unknown, although it is known that there is both a genetic aspect to the disease as well as an environmental factor. The best known belief is that some people have an inherent genetic predisposition to develop diabetes, due to one or more unknown genetic mutations. In addition to this genetic component, diabetes is triggered due to some environmental factor that causes the person to develop the disease, making them sometimes unable to conrol insulin efficiently.