The pig and its pancreas
Friday, February 26, 2010 - 12:21
in Health & Medicine
The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes places a huge burden on its victims and poses a tremendous challenge to healthcare systems. Half of all heart attacks and stroke cases, but also many other deleterious conditions, can be ascribed to the effects of this metabolic syndrome. In Germany alone, some seven million people currently suffer from the disease, and the number of cases worldwide is projected to reach 370 million by the year 2030. Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors which cause the organism to become resistant to the action of insulin. This hormone controls the level of glucose in the blood, so insulin resistance leads to a chronic rise in glucose concentrations.