Juvenile Diabetes Causes

Juvenile diabetes is a term that is used to refer to type 1 diabetes. It also goes by the name of insulin dependent diabetes. It got the name 'juvenile diabetes', due to its prevalence in children and adolescents. However, juvenile or type 1 diabetes can affect individuals of any age. It is a type of diabetes which is characterized by little or no production of insulin due to autoimmune destruction of the insulin producing cells of the pancreas.

What Causes Juvenile Diabetes?

Our body cells require a hormone known as insulin to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. In other words, insulin helps glucose to pass into the cells and tissues of the body from the bloodstream. When enough insulin is not present in the body, which is the case with juvenile diabetes, the cells fail to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. As a result, glucose or sugar builds up in the blood, which cause a rise in blood sugar or glucose level.

The hormone insulin is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans present in the pancreas. The exact causes of this condition cannot be identified with any certainty, but it is believed that body's own immune system attacks and destroys the insulin producing beta cells of the pancreas. This autoimmune response reduces the production of insulin significantly, as a result of which the body fails to utilize glucose efficiently.

The most important risk factors for this condition are genetics, a family history of diabetes, and exposure to certain viruses like, 'Epstein-Barr virus', mumps virus, cytomegalovirus and coxsackievirus. In general, it has been observed that individuals with parents or other members of the family with juvenile diabetes have higher risk for developing the condition themselves. Apart from these, factors like low level of vitamin D, being born with a disease like jaundice, and developing respiratory infection immediately after birth, may raise the risks for contracting type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms and Treatment of Juvenile Diabetes

It is characterized by a number of symptoms like increased thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, increased fatigue, extreme hunger and blurred vision. These are the most common diabetes symptoms observed in individuals with type 1 diabetes. As far as the treatment is concerned, the main treatment option is insulin therapy. Insulin injection or insulin pump infusion are generally used for treating this condition. Several types of insulin are available for its treatment. Your physician can recommend a specific type of insulin or a combination of different types of insulin for the treatment after evaluating your condition properly.

In addition to insulin, your physician can prescribe some other medications, especially high blood pressure medications, aspirin, and cholesterol lowering medications to reduce the risks for certain other conditions which diabetes patients are more likely to develop. It is equally important to adopt a healthy lifestyle, along with taking medications properly. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are required to manage diabetes and control the level of blood sugar. Diabetes patients should closely monitor their blood glucose level, and follow a healthy and balanced diet that includes fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low carbohydrate foods. They should also exercise or do physical activities regularly for the effective management of diabetes.

Presently, a few other treatment options such as pancreas transplantation, islet cells transplantation and stem cell transplant are being investigated for type 1 diabetes treatment. However, no significant success has been achieved in this regard. Studies or research is still going on to find a permanent cure for this condition, but unless such a cure is obtained, patients have to depend on insulin to control the level of blood sugar.