diabetes

[MIA6]

In diabetes, the loss of glucose excreted in the urine is accompanied by a loss of water from the body. I read this in the book, but i have a question: diabetes is a disease lacking of insulin, so it means that there is too much glucose, so how come here is 'the loss of glucose' and why there is also loss of water? Hope you can help me, thanks.

[Dr.Stein]

First of all, you should know that there are two kinds of diabetes, which is insulin-dependent and insulin-independent.

Are you sure it is "loss" and not "excessive" or something?

[xand_3r]

Normally, some of the glucose passes away along with the glomerular ultrafiltrate in the proximal urinifer tubule . Then, all the glucose is actively reabsorbed so the final urine has no glucose. If the blood concentration of glucose is higher than a certain value (about 300 mg/dl but I'm not sure), the reabsorbtion capacity of the epithelium is surpassed and some of the glucose escapes the process. Because glucose is osmotic active, water passes along with it through osmosis (passive process). This situation usually occurs in diabetes mellitus type I.

[AstusAleator]

Yeah.. what he said! Good post.

[Revenged]

First of all, you should know that there are two kinds of diabetes, which is insulin-dependent and insulin-independent.

We stopped splitting diabetes mellitus into insulin and non-inslin dependent about 30 years ago!

We call things 'type 1' and 'type 2' diabetes now... This is because poorly controlled type 2 diabetics that cannot control their blood sugar levels with the standard drugs use insulin... and so they are 'insulin-dependent' but have type 2 (or 'insulin independent') diabetes... which ruins the old IDDM and NIDDM definitions...

i know it's a bit pedantic... but that's how things are...

[rosalin]

insulin is responsible for enhancing cellular glucose uptake and utilisation.
as a result, when insulin is secreted from the pancreas, there is a rapid movement of glucose from the blood into the cells (hepatocytes and adipocytes) causing a decrease in blood glucose levels.

in diabetes mellitis, insulin production is greatly reduced or totally stopped.so, the cells r unable to take up glucose & utilise it , and the sugar remains in the blood (blood glucose levels increase) and is excreted via the urine.