From a very young age I knew that I was different from other kids because instead of eating sweets like all of my friends and family I, on the other hand, had to limit myself and eat and drink only sugar free foods. I never really knew why I can’t have what everybody is having and restrict myself. Later on in life I understood that the condition that I have is called diabetes but my type is unlike common types I have researched about on the internet. My curiosity made me look deeper into this topic and I have decided to make diabetes the theme for my IA after on one of our lessons we discussed this topic. We have studied diabetes and its causes in topic 6 on our biology lessons, which made me discover more about my disease and encouraged me to look deeper into this topic.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) reports that 9,4 percent of people in the United States had diabetes. Diabetes refers to a chronic disease which is characterized by raised levels of glucose or sugar in blood, that eventually leads to significant damage of many vital parts of human body, especially heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves as well as blood vessels. Mainly, there are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by little to none production of insulin by the pancreas itself. Type 2 diabetes, which is a very common type, mainly occurs in adults due to the body developing resistance to insulin or inability to develop enough of it. There is also Gestational diabetes which women occasionally can develop during pregnancy and which usually goes away after giving birth, although it increases chances of getting Type 2 diabetes at an older age.
However, there are exceptions and unique forms which can appear from time to time. Some examples of unique forms of diabetes can be: LADA, brittle diabetes and chronic pancreatitis-associated diabetes. My form is one of the rare once which is still to be fully explored. This form is called Monogenic diabetes or shortly – MODY. Monogenic diabetes is an uncommon type which occurs from a mutation of a single. MODY up to this day counts more than 10 distinct types as more genetic testing has been going. MODY is found in around 1 to 2 percent of people with diabetes, however there could be more people who have it as this type is usually confused with either diabetes type 1 or 2.
Although my blood sugar levels are above average, they are not going beyond a certain point. Considering my age and the way my disease has been progressing it does not pose any threat to my life yet. I do not take insulin or treat it with any drugs. However, there are some factors which may be affecting my condition and from those my research question and hypothesis arises.
