Type 1 diabetes

Article By:

Homann, Dirk Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado.

Last reviewed:April 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.718340

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• Type 1 diabetes, published June 2011:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

An abnormal metabolic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin and characterized by excessive levels of sugar glucose in the blood and tissues of the body. Type 1 diabetes (T1D; formerly termed insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes) [Fig. 1] is an autoimmune disease that poses significant challenges to afflicted individuals, to the development of effective therapeutic interventions, and to public health initiatives at large. Although the precise interactions between inherited susceptibilities and environmental factors that together trigger the disease remain to be elucidated in detail, development of type 1 diabetes is mediated by complex autoimmune processes that eventually destroy insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas and lead to elevated blood sugar levels along with serious disturbances of protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism. Currently, no cure or effective prevention is available. Despite insulin treatment, severe complications, including kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke, are frequent. See also: Autoimmunity; Carbohydrate metabolism; Diabetes; Energy metabolism; Glucose; Insulin; Lipid metabolism; Metabolic disorders; Metabolism; Pancreas; Pancreas disorders; Public health; Type 2 diabetes

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