Diabetes - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Type 1

Explanation:

• Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Diabetes may be directly inherited.
• Type 1 Diabetes - the body does not produce insulin. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1.
• Type 2 Diabetes - the body does not produce enough insulin for proper function. Approximately 90% of all cases of diabetes worldwide are of this type.
• Gestational Diabetes - this type affects females during pregnancy.
• The most common diabetes symptoms include frequent urination, intense thirst and hunger, weight gain, unusual weight loss, fatigue, cuts and bruises that do not heal, male sexual dysfunction, numbness and tingling in hands and feet.

ANSWER: Alloxan

Explanation:

• Alloxan, a chemical is allegedly used in the manufacture of refined flour.
• Alloxan is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats and to test the efficacy of anti-diabetic medicines but no tests have been scientifically done to detect its presence in India.
• Alloxan has been banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Delhi-based central body that has the final say on what additives are permissible in food.
• Alloxan’s chemical existence has been known since the 19th century, when it was discovered in human excretions, indicating that it could be synthesised in the body.
• Alloxan’s structure mimics that of glucose, which allows it to be absorbed by the pancreas and once inside the organ, it destroys insulin-producing beta cells.
  However, according to the American Chemical Society, it cannot be taken up by the human pancreas, though it has been shown to be associated with liver and kidney toxicity.

ANSWER: Lungs

Explanation:

• High levels of insulin directly damage the lung structure, says global study.
• Diabetes may be impeding the normal functioning of lungs and common medicines that are used to treat insulin resistance may actually be exacerbating conditions such as asthma, report a team of Indian, European and American scientists. Most medicines to treat diabetes attempt to control the excess blood sugar by pumping in ever-increasing quantities of insulin into the body. That only makes matters worse.
• Notably, Indians have the lowest lung function in the world even after adjusting for our smaller body size. The importance of this research paper is that it shows for the first time that high levels of insulin are directly damaging the lung structure and function.
• Recently, there have been a number of studies showing that when adjusted for body size, Indians have among the smallest lungs in the world or nearly a third smaller than a white European of similar size. This means a reduced efficiency to filter oxygen from ingested air, an accelerated decline in lung function with age as well as an increased propensity to contract respiratory diseases.