Type I diabetes, also referred to as juvenile diabetes, is caused by the loss of the insulin producing cells in the pancreas.  The majority of cases of type I diabetes are caused by an autoimmune reaction whereby the T-cells of the immune system attack the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin.  Ten percent of diabetics have type I diabetes.  This is in contrast to type II diabetes which is caused by an insensitivity of the body to insulin.

Type I diabetes is thought to be caused by a trigger in a genetically susceptible individual.  A likely trigger is viral infection although environmental stresses and exposures can also trigger the autoimmune response that leads to type I diabetes.  The symptoms of type I diabetes can develop quite rapidly especially in children.  The increased level of blood sugar causes one to be quite thirsty and drink a lot.  The individual also then has frequent urination.  An individual may also experience rapid weight loss or vision changes.  These symptoms will lead to a confirmatory measure of the blood glucose concentration which will be found to be significantly elevated.

The current treatment for type I diabetes is to monitor the blood sugar carefully and replace the missing insulin through shots or a pump.  Patients typically stick their finger to get a drop of blood and measure the amount of glucose in order to determine the amount of insulin to administer.  As of now, there is no cure for this chronic, life long disease with the exception of a pancreas transplant.  There are some human trials that are using patient’s own stem cells from bone marrow in order to grow insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.  Early results seem to be encouraging.

It is important to manage the daily blood glucose level in diabetes not only because of the possibility of coma and death if the blood sugar gets too high or too low, but also to minimize the effects of long term complications.  The long term effects of the abnormal blood glucose levels affect the blood vessels in many major organ systems leading to blindness, kidney disease and failure, increased risk of heart attack and strokes just to name a few.

Although type I diabetes is a life-changing chronic disease, many professionals are able to manage their disease quite well and function at the highest levels of their profession.  Famous athletes with type I diabetes include Jackie Robinson (first African-American major league baseball player), Jay Cutler (NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos now with the Chicago Bears), Billie Jean King (one of the greatest female tennis stars ever), along with many others.  A few famous Hollywood stars with type I diabetes include HalleBerry (famous actress) and Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.  The newest United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has had type I diabetes since she was 8 years old.  There are many others that are too numerous to list.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research was founded in 1970 by parents of children with type I diabetes. Since its founding, it has devoted over $1.3 billion to research. Some friends of ours have a young son named Gerod who was diagnosed with type I diabetes almost 2 years ago. He has become an active participant in JDRF and is currently raising funds for research via their funny car contest. The top 5 fund raisers will have their funny car designs voted upon to decorate NHRA Nitro driver Bob Tasca III’s Ford Shelby Mustang. I have included the link where you can donate prior to August 14, 2009. You can read more about Gerod here.