Verified Document

Treatment Of Thyroid And Diabetes Term Paper

Diabetes and Thyroid Diabetes

What is the mechanism of action of insulin and what are the differences in insulin therapy for Type I and Type II diabetes mellitus?

The pancreas secretes insulin, and it is used for the regulation of glucose from the blood into the cells. Insulin assists in lowering blood glucose by causing peripheral glucose uptake by skeletal muscle cells. The breakdown of fat, proteins, and manufacture of glucose is inhibited by insulin. Insulin will also increase protein synthesis and the conversion of excess glucose to fat. Patients suffering from diabetes are not able to produce enough insulin, and this leads to hyperglycemia. Insulin therapy for type I diabetes mellitus is aimed at increasing or providing insulin in the patient's body (Trauner, Richert, & Luddeke, 2013). For type II diabetes, insulin therapy is aimed at controlling blood sugar, increasing insulin levels, and lowering the patient's resistance to insulin. Patients suffering from type I diabetes produce very little insulin or cannot produce insulin. Insulin therapy increases their insulin levels. The insulin dosage will differ and change over time. This is due to many factors like weight, health conditions, activity level, what one eats, and work. Type II diabetes patients will eventually require insulin therapy, but the treatment goals are aimed at lowering their blood sugar levels. Insulin therapy is only used when their bodies become resistant to the produced insulin.

What is an incretin and how is it currently utilized for drug therapy in diabetes mellitus?

An incretin is a hormone that works to increase the secretion of insulin in a person's body. According to Kahn (2013) incretins are gastrointestinal hormones that cause a decrease in levels of blood glucose. It is believed that glucose in the digestive tract leads to feed forward mechanism that increases the secretion of insulin. This is done in anticipation of the rise in blood glucose levels that mostly occur after absorption of ingested carbohydrates. Incretin hormones include glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1. The use of incretin as a drug therapy for diabetes mellitus may provide a therapeutic solution. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a viable candidate for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Stimulation of GLP-1 receptors is...

The receptors are stimulated by administration of GLP-1 agonists. Stimulating the receptors allows for the production of insulin in the body and the cells that destroy the insulin are hindered.
Metformin is a biguanide used for Type II diabetes mellitus. What is the mechanism of action? What are the indications and contraindications? Why does metformin not cause hypoglycemia? What is a potentially deadly adverse effect of biguanide therapy and how can this be avoided?

Metformin is an oral drug used as a first-line drug of choice for treating type 2 diabetes. The drug metformin prevents the liver from producing glucose, it improves the body's sensitivity to insulin, and reduces the quantity of sugar the intestines absorb. Metformin is used for treating a patient with type II diabetes. It lowers body weight, and does not cause hypoglycemia. For obese patients, it is recommended as a single drug therapy. Metformin is contraindicated for patients suffering from renal disease or anal dysfunction. Liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, alcoholism, and advanced cardiovascular disease. Metformin does not cause hypoglycemia because it diverts the glucose found in the gut wall to lactate using the anaerobic glycolysis pathway. Lactic acidosis is a deadly side effect of biguanide therapy. This condition occurs when there is inadequate clearance of lactic acid in the blood. This can be avoided by withdrawing the medication causing the condition.

Sulfonylureas are some of the first oral drugs used for Type II diabetes. Currently, the second generation of these drugs are preferred over the older ones. What is the mechanism of action of sulfonylureas? What are the side effects and precautions? Can these drugs be used with other classes of oral agents?

Sulfonylureas mechanism of action is causing the production of insulin from pancreatic beta cells that are still functioning. This assists in lowering blood glucose levels. Sulfonylureas also sensitize the beta cells to glucose, which assists in limiting glucose production in the liver. There is a possibility of sulfonylureas inducing hypoglycemia due to excess insulin release and production. They can also induce weight gain due to the increase in levels of insulin. Headache, abdominal upset, and hypersensitivity reaction are other side effects.…

Sources used in this document:
References

Kahn, S.E. (2013). Incretin therapy and islet pathology: a time for caution. Diabetes, 62(7), 2178-2180.

Reinehr, T. (2010). Obesity and thyroid function. Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 316(2), 165-171.

Stohl, H.E., Ouzounian, J., Rick, A.-M., Hueppchen, N.A., & Bienstock, J.L. (2013). Thyroid disease and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM): is there a connection? The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 26(11), 1139-1142.

Trauner, A., Richert, K., & Luddeke, H.-J. (2013). Start of an insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes patients. Diabetes aktuell fur die Hausarztpraxis, 11(06), 248-252.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Thyroid Analogs and Obesity
Words: 752 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Thyroid Hormone and Obesity Obesity Treatment: The Efficacy and Safety of Thyroid Hormone and Derivatives Weight loss programs have traditionally focused on calorie intake reduction in combination with exercise, but new research suggests that it may be possible to simply accelerate metabolic rates using pharmaceutical interventions. The current drugs approved for treating obesity function by suppressing hunger or limiting nutritional absorption (reviewed by Tseng, Cypess, and Kahn, 2010). Unfortunately, the body is

Consultant Pharmacists Impact on the Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia...
Words: 32313 Length: 116 Document Type: Thesis

Consultant Pharmacists Impact on the Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia What is Cholesterol, and Why is it of Concern? Guidelines for Treating Hypercholesterolemia Management of Hypercholesterolemia Management of Hypercholesterolemia By Different Health Care Workers. Practical Management of Hypercholesterolemia Community Pharmacists and the Management of Hypercholesterolemia Economic Impact of Pharmacists' Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia This paper will look at the impact of consultant pharmacists on the treatment of hypercholesterolemia by physicians. Pharmacists have now assumed responsibilities outside the dispensing counter and have

Analyzing Case Study on Diabetes Mellitus Type II
Words: 4242 Length: 10 Document Type: Case Study

Diabetes Mellitus Type II Diabetes is described as a condition that results from a chronic problem of hyperglycaemia that is brought about by insulin inaction in the body system. Diabetes type II is a condition that fronts the case for a range of diabetic problems characterised by some pathophysiological symptoms, including increased insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. The problems observed in the cell function and the deteriorating pancreatic conditions

Multiple Sclerosis: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Words: 1026 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is, in basic terms, an inflammatory condition whereby an individual's immune system attacks, and causes damage to the protective sheath covering the nerves (also referred to as myelin) thereby disrupting normal communication between the spinal cord, the brain, and the rest of the body. Myelin provides some form of cover to the nerves, and when it is damaged, nervous axons, which are responsible for the conduction of

Dealing With an Under Active Thyroid
Words: 1978 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Hypothyroidism is a fairly common disorder that patients are diagnosed with and it can have wide ranging effects. While hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid is excreting too much into the bloodstream, hypothyroidism is the opposite. If untreated, the effects on the body are numerous and substantial with the most prominent affected area being the body's metabolism rate and quality. Even with these risks, there is absolutely treatment available for the

Genetic Engineering for the Perfect Child
Words: 2515 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Genetic Engineering The alteration of the genetic structure of any organism is done by means of Genetic engineering that provides characters beneficial or pleasing to the individual performing the alternation. In other words it is a treatment of the DNA or RNA pool (Sarah. 2002). For instance, the most greatly well-known example of genetic engineering is the sheep Dolly that was cloned in the year 1996. Here, in order to create

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now