Pancreas and Diabetes: Why does Pancreas Stop Producing Insulin?

Every part of an individual’s body has its own mechanisms. It is the constant production of hormones that leads to bodily as well as mental changes. This task of generating enzymes and hormones which are required for breaking food down lies with Pancreas. Being an important part of the body, its responsibility is also about producing enough insulin in the body so that the sugar level remains intact. In fact, imbalance in the production of insulin can lead to the health problem called Diabetes. Once the problem starts developing, it can be only controlled by taking suitable diet and by avoiding eating sweets. Let us see what the function of Pancreas is and its contribution towards the development of Diabetes.

Pancreas is an important part of the body, which is positioned behind the lower stomach. It has the ability to produce insulin and glucagon that tends to regulate sugar level in the blood. Carrying out the double functionality of stowing hormones into the blood as well as discharging enzymes through ducts, Pancreas have always held a significant position in controlling hormonal secretion and regulation. A slightest of imbalance in the production of insulin can lead to the problem of diabetes that requires immense care in dealing with dietary management.

Playing an essential part in the endocrine as well as exocrine systems, pancreas has exceptional functional system. Basically, the endocrine system is aimed at the production of chemicals as well as hormones in the body. On the other hand, exocrine system constitutes of glands in the body that tends to release saliva, sweat and digestive enzymes.

As known to all, the role of Pancreas is to produce adequate amount of insulin for regulating the level of sugar in the body. The cells that are meant to generate insulin in the body are said to be Beta cells. They are segregated in a cluster of cells present inside Pancreas, which are well-known as Islets of Langerhans. The basic connection between Pancreas and Insulin is that Insulin is a specialized hormone produced to regulate blood sugar levels. It happens to take the glucose through blood into the neighboring cells for easy functionality of digestive system. However, 90 percent of the cells in Pancreas work on the digestive front of the body and their imbalance can lead to serious complication called Diabetes that is not curable by roots.

Generally developed as an autoimmune disorder, the occurrence of Type 1 diabetes calls alerts about body’s inappropriate reaction to its own tissue and starts considering it as something else. Basically, it is the Islet cells in the pancreas whose main aim is to produce insulin are seen as an enemy to the body. The body, further, happens to develop antibodies that possess the tendency to fight enemy cells and destroy their ability to create insulin. The reduction in the production of insulin results in diabetic condition.

It is a well-known fact that Type 1 diabetes is having lesser amount of ability to affect family members of the patients as compared to Type 2 Diabetes. As per the studies conducted on pancreas and Diabetes, less than 4 percent of parents as well as 6 percent of children of a person with diabetes were also affected with diabetes. Apart from this, kids of fathers having type 1 diabetes are more probable to get accustomed to type 1 diabetes than the children of mothers affected by type 1 diabetes.

As per the doctor’s consultation, Type 1 diabetes is meant to be treated with suggested dosage of insulin. This comprises of injecting insulin in the veins for it to get absorbed into the capillaries where it can then start doing its function of breaking down food glucose. This is obvious that Insulin should not be consumed in the form of a pill because the available juices within the stomach have the tendency to extinguish the insulin before it can properly function.

On coming across with Type 2 Diabetes, the transformation process of the carbohydrates into energy gets slowed down. This may raise the risk of getting heart disease, damage of organ, and various other serious complications. Basically, the matter is all about building up of resistance to insulin, which is a mandatory part of controlling blood sugar level. Attacking slowly and steadily, symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes tends to appear after a long time. Another important concern about Type 2 Diabetes is that it has the tendency to reduce the production of insulin from the beta cells in the pancreas, which would lead to medication for enhancing the production or in severe cases injecting insulin. Type 2 Diabetes often runs in families.

Though, there are not much of the symptoms seen on immediate basis; still, dryness in the mouth, large appetite, frequent urination, sudden weight loss or gain, headaches and even blurred vision are some of the symptoms people experience. Generally, what happens is that the disease of Type 2 Diabetes can grow up to be troublesome and a life threatening problem on being detected late. So, the patient is required to consult the doctor on time and get treatment to keep it under control at all times.

It is a well-known fact that pancreas happen to carry beta cells, whose job is to produce insulin in the body and release it in the bloodstream. If the beta cells do not happen to generate enough amount of insulin in the body or it does not react favorably to the existing insulin in the body or it stops producing any insulin due to damage of the Beta cells and Islet of Langerhans, there is a possibility of glucose build up in the blood as they do not get absorbed by the cell. This condition may drag a person towards diabetes.

When it comes to treating Insulin production, doctors suggest specified medications that work wonder. Well, the patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes has more ability to produce insulin than Type 1. In this regard, they are required to consume Amylin Mimetics. These are said to be injectable medication in conjunction with insulin. Others to take in consideration are Sodium Glucose Transporter 2 Inhibitors, Incretin Mimetics, Sulfonylureas, Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors and Glinides are the allopathic treatments that help a patient by keeping their blood sugar level controlled. Apart from this, savoring on whole grains, vegetables and fruits turn out to be blessing in disguise with moderate amount of chicken or meat. All these help in enhancing the production of Insulin in the body.

As for Type 1 Diabetes, there is no way to increase the production of insulin since the cells responsible for its production die due to autoimmune response of the body.

In order to treat Diabetes, the patients are required to meet general physician, who happens to guide them on consuming relative pills. It is a troublesome situation as the dosage should be taken well on time.

Type 2 Diabetes can well be managed by medications which help in increasing the insulin production. However, for Type 1 Diabetes a person is put on injectable insulin since the pancreas loses its capability to produce insulin.

In case of severe condition of Diabetes irrespective of the type, the patients are required to take insulin injections that are given in the veins. Within changing technologies, Insulin pumps are also used which are taken in the similar way as that of asthma patients. The purpose of these medicines is to control blood sugar levels in the body and help patient in safeguarding from dire consequences of overdose or slip of medication. This is the reason that doctors guide patients thoroughly for strictly following their doses. Moreover, the treatment for diabetes should be taken immediately on coming across symptoms; else, it can prove to be fatal.

Irrespective of the type of Diabetes and the mode of treatment, diet, leading a healthy lifestyle and exercising still remains a vital part in managing Diabetes and to wave off the serious and life-threatening ill-effects of this disease. Diabetes has the potential to destroy the vital organs of the body and thus must be taken very seriously.

Also Read:

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• How Does Exercise Help in Diabetes?
• What is Insipidus Diabetes: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Risk Factors
• What are the 3 P’s of Diabetes & their Characteristics?
• What Happens if Type 2 Diabetes is Untreated?