If the body’s insulin production insufficient (or is stopped) production is called as type-1 diabetes caused by autoimmune disorder, and it needs to be treated with insulin shots.
Type-1 diabetes is also known as Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM), juvenile diabetes, because it is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, and young adults. Now it proves wrong, that type 1 diabetes does occur even during the adult age. It is also spelled as type-i diabetes, diabetes one and diabetes 1.
What is Type-1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes)?
Type-1 diabetes is lacked of or no insulin production. Formerly, it is known as "juvenile diabetes," because it represents a majority of the cases in children, teenagers, or young adults, but it can also affect adults.
Type 1 diabetes develops because the body immune system mistakenly destroys the beta cells in the islet tissue of the pancreas that produce insulin. The rate at which they are destroyed varies from one to another. Mostly, Infants and children develop type 1 quickly, because the beta cells destroy rapidly. On the other hand, in the case of adults the type 1 diabetes develops relatively slowly.
Type-1 diabetes is mostly caused by autoimmune disorder. Other less common (very rare) causes of Type-1 diabetes includes injury to the pancreas from toxins, trauma, or after the surgical removal of the majority (or all) of the pancreas.
Type-1 diabetes needs insulin shots to maintain the blood-glucose level, because of no insulin production by the pancreas. Insulin cannot be taking through the mouth, because insulin is a hormone (protein) that is broken down by the digestive system.
Sometimes after an initial treatment, some peoples has a period from few weeks to few months, when the pancreas is again start-producing insulin known as "honeymoon period." During this time, a person may need to take less or no insulin, depending on how much insulin he/she produces. After this honeymoon period, the person needs to take insulin for the rest of his or her life.
Video on type 1 diabetes
Autoimmune disorder
Our body immune system mistakenly attacks pancreas and damages islet of Langerhans (regions were insulin is secreted) and thus no or very low insulin secretion leads to high level of glucose in blood.
Some viruses (mumps, rubella, cytomegalovirus, measles, influenza, encephalitis, polio or Epstein-Barr virus) and the cells in the islets of Langerhans (regions were insulin is secreted) in the pancreas are of similar structure. Thus if anyone infected by the above-said viruses, then their body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the islet of Langerhans considering it as virus and damaged it permanently. As a result, insulin production is stopped leads to type-1 diabetes; it is mostly diagnosing after diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) episode.