Diabetes mellitus is defined as a collection of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood sugar (glucose) levels that result from defects in insulin secretion, or its action. Diabetes was first recognized as an ailment connected with "sweet urine," and extreme muscle loss in the olden world. High levels of blood glucose (hyperglycemia) lead to spillage of glucose into the urine, therefore the term sweet urine
Usually, blood glucose
levels are strongly controlled by insulin, a hormone formed by the pancreas.
Insulin lowers the blood glucose level. When the blood glucose elevates, insulin
is released from the pancreas to regularize the glucose level by promoting the
uptake of glucose into body cells. In patients with diabetes, the absence of inadequate
production of or lack of reaction to insulin causes hyperglycemia. Diabetes is an
unrelieved medical situation, meaning that although it can be controlled, it
lasts a lifetime.
