This video is part of “Innovation: Type 1 Diabetes,” an editorially independent special report produced with the financial support of pinnacle.
Have you ever wondered how your body turns food into energy? Or how carefully to manage that process?
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When we eat, glucose from our food is stored in the liver as glycogen. And depending on our body’s needs, the liver will convert that glycogen back into glucose so that it can travel through the blood and reach our cells, which turn that glucose into energy.
Meanwhile, our pancreas produces a hormone called insulin whose job is to get into the blood and tell our cells to take up that glucose. It also makes insulin a regulator of our body’s blood sugar levels, preventing complications that can occur if our levels get too high or too low.
When the pancreas stops producing insulin, glucose cannot enter our cells. Instead, it accumulates in the bloodstream. In some people, the pancreas stops making insulin altogether. This condition is known as type 1 diabetes.
Although the exact cause is mysterious, we know that the disease occurs because immune cells target and attack insulin-producing cells called beta cells in the pancreas. As those cells are destroyed, the body stops producing insulin and loses its main regulator of blood sugar levels. This can result in a number of symptoms including fatigue and weakness.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, scientists have developed technologies that have made treatment for type 1 diabetes possible. These include meters that check blood sugar levels and pumps that deliver small doses of insulin. And with advances in manufacturing and software, these devices have become smaller and more portable. Despite these advances, scientists are still searching for a cure for type 1 diabetes.
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