Diabetes Treatment - Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for regulating and controlling body blood glucose (blood sugar). The main function of insulin in cells is to enable cells to receive glucose and in the liver and muscles to facilitate storage of glucose in the form of glycogen.
Insulin is produced by a small gland called pancreas, which is located behind the stomach. In the pancreas the beta cells called Langerhants cells are the only cells in the body that produce insulin. Production of insulin is regulated by receptors that are mapping the levels of glucose in the blood stream.
After each meal the food is digested and in the stomach broken down into smaller particles by digestive enzymes. Most of the diet contains carbohydrates, proteins, fat and water. When digested specific digestive enzymes break down each of these substances into smaller compounds.




Amylase, the digestive enzyme in the saliva and in the stomach, breaks down carbohydrates into smaller sugar compounds and eventually into glucose, which is a small enough compound to be transported from the stomach into the blood stream. Once in the blood stream the blood glucose level rises, which gives a signal for insulin production in the pancreas.
Insulin exits Langherhans cells into the blood stream through which it travels to the body cells, where it binds to cells receptors. However, insulin can only bind to the insulin specific receptors. These receptors are located on the muscle, liver and fat cells, which all use glucose as a source of fuel and energy in order to survive. The insulin receptor can be described as a gate that depending whether it is open or closed enables blood glucose to enter the cell.
Therefore, for the cell to use glucose as its energy, the gate has to be open. Insulin has the function of the key. The gate remains closed unless the insulin opens it. By binding to the receptor, the insulin opens the gate allowing the glucose to enter into the cell. Glucose from blood stream is then used by cells as immediate energy or stored for future use. On the other hand, if the insulin does not bind to the insulin receptor, the gate remains closed and glucose stays in the blood stream, leading to hyperglycaemia.




In both types of diabetes the glucose is unable to enter the cells. In type 1 diabetes this is due to absence of insulin, which can be described as absence of the gate key, and as a result the gate remains closed preventing glucose from entering into the cell, depriving it of its source of energy.
In type 2 diabetes this is either due to lower insulin production (not enough gates is open to utilize glucose from blood) or in some cases there can be enough insulin produced, however when the insulin binds to the receptor gate it does not open, which is called resistance to the insulin action.