With mounting concern over the explosive rise in Type 2 diabetes, mostly among overweight and obese Americans, it is easy to forget that Type 1 diabetes, which is far less common, can be a much more serious disease that often seems to arise out of nowhere for no apparent reason.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own insulin-producing pancreatic cells. Most patients must be treated with insulin for their entire lives to prevent the blood sugar glucose from reaching levels that damage tissues and threaten life. Although it accounts for only 5 percent to 10 percent of all diabetes cases, it usually affects many more years of patients’ lives than the Type 2 variety.
[For more of this story, written by Jane E. Brody, go to http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/...?ref=health&_r=0]
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