Other than Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, there are other types of diabetes such as Type 3 Diabetes, Gestational Diabetes, Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults (LADA).
For this blog post, we will be focusing on Type 3 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes.
Type 3 Diabetes
Type 3 Diabetes refers to the resistance to insulin in the brain. This is similar to that in Alzheimer’s disease. And thus, it is also a title proposed for Alzheimer’s disease.
In Type 1 Diabetes, either no insulin or not enough insulin is produced for the cells to utilise glucose or for glucose to be converted into glycogen for storage. And in Type 2 Diabetes, the body does not respond to the insulin produced; this is known as insulin resistance. In both cases, the body’s functions are affected.
As for Alzheimer's disease, it is shown that similar problems also occur but instead of affecting the entire body’s function, they affect the brain. As a result, Alzheimer’s disease is often referred to as “Type 3 Diabetes”.
Symptoms:
Since Type 3 Diabetes was only recently discovered in 2005, many symptoms remain uncovered as compared to Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. Currently, there are only very few symptoms of Type 3 Diabetes; and the known symptoms include memory loss, confusion and dementia. Type 3 Diabetes can be diagnosed using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scan which measures the brain activity.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational Diabetes is diagnosed in pregnant women during their second or third trimester.
These pregnant women do not have diabetes before their pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes usually goes away after giving birth.
Causes:
The hormones that are produced during pregnancy increases the risk of insulin resistance as they make it difficult for the body to utilize insulin properly. In addition, heavy demand on the body during pregnancy decreases the ability of some women to produce sufficient insulin to overcome this resistance. The body is thus unable to use glucose properly for energy and this causes glucose to remain in the blood and the blood glucose level will rise, leading to Gestational Diabetes.
Gestational diabetes generally does not have any significant noticeable signs or symptoms.
However, patients may experience these symptoms if their blood glucose level is too high:
- Fatigue
- Increased thirst
- Dry Mouth
- Increased urination
- Blurred vision
References:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/type3-diabetes.html
https://www.verywell.com/why-is-alzheimers-called-type-3-diabetes-98797
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