L2.2 Diabetes

Patient Stories: Problems with Body Systems

​With every breath and every bite of food, the human body takes in millions of molecules. These molecules are so small that they can't be seen under a common microscope, but the body can't live without them. How can something so tiny be so important to the health of the whole body? When everything works properly, the body gets certain molecules from food and from the air. The molecules enter the cells of the body and provide everything the cells need to be healthy. Healthy cells make up healthy organs, and healthy organs work together in systems to keep the body breathing, moving, thinking, and releasing energy. The relationship between molecules and health isn't just a cool idea: tiny molecules can actually make a person feel better or worse!

Sometimes people get sick because their cells aren't getting the molecules they need. When this happens, we say the person has a medical condition. Doctors often look for medical conditions when a patient's symptoms don't seem to be caused by something like bacteria or a virus. In many cases, people can manage medical conditions by taking medicine to make sure their bodies get the molecules they need. The chapters that follow tell stories of different people whose body systems don't provide their cells with everything they need.

​Diabetes: Glucose Locked Out Slide 1 of

​Diabetes prevents the cells in the body from getting the glucose they need.

My Story Slide 2 of

I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when I was five years old. You may have heard of the phrase “blood sugar.” When people talk about blood sugar they really mean blood glucose. Glucose is a kind of molecule that cells need in order to release energy, and all people have glucose in their blood. If you have diabetes, your level of blood glucose can get too high.

Where does that glucose come from? When you eat starch and other carbohydrates, your digestive system breaks them down into glucose. Then the glucose moves into your blood, and your circulatory system carries it throughout your body. If you don’t have diabetes, that glucose moves from your circulatory system into all of your cells. For a person with diabetes, it’s not that simple.

​In a person without diabetes, insulin allows glucose to enter the cell, where it can be used to release energy. In a person with diabetes, there’s no insulin to “unlock” the cells and allow glucose to go in. Because the glucose cannot leave the blood, there is too much glucose in the blood. 

Multiple Choice

What is the main function of insulin in the body?

• To produce glucose

• To bread down carbohydrates

• To remove glucose from the blood

• To unlock cell membranes for glucose

​Glucose doesn't just go into your cells automatically. Cells are actually very picky about which molecules are allowed to cross the cell membrane and enter the cell. In order to get glucose into a cell, the cell membrane needs to be unlocked. A molecule called insulin acts like a key to unlock the cell membrane and let glucose inside. Insulin is a protein molecule made in special cells and released into the blood of the circulatory system, which carries the insulin to every cell in the body. People with diabetes have trouble making insulin. Since I have diabetes, my body is not making enough insulin.

Without insulin, glucose is locked out of my cells. The glucose molecules can't get through the cell membranes—they just get stuck in my circulatory system. When that happens, the amount of glucose in my blood gets higher than normal. More important, my cells don’t get as much glucose as they need. Other molecules can get into my cells just fine, but not glucose. When my cells aren't getting enough glucose, they can’t function—and that can become very dangerous!

Multiple Choice

What happens when glucose can't enter cells in a person with diabetes?

• Cells produce more insulin.

• Amount of blood glucose gets higher than normal.

• The digestive system stops working.

• The circulatory system shuts down.

Multiple Choice

What system carries insulin to all the cells in the body?

• Respiratory

• Nervous

• Digestive

• Circulatory

How I Stay Healthy

People with diabetes must test the levels of glucose in their blood.

​To keep myself healthy, I've learned how to control the amount of glucose in my blood. I measure my blood glucose several times a day, and use the test results to decide what to eat and when. I also take a kind of insulin that is made in a lab. When I take insulin, my circulatory system carries the insulin to all the cells in my body. The insulin unlocks my cell membranes so that glucose molecules can move from my circulatory system into my cells. That way, my blood glucose doesn't get too high, my cells get enough glucose, and I stay healthy.

Multiple Choice

How often does the person in the passage measure their blood glucose?

• Once a day

• Several times a day

• Once a week

• Only when they feel sick

Multiple Choice

Why is it dangerous if cells don't get enough glucose?

• The cells can't function properly

• It causes weight gain

• It makes the person sleepy

• It improves insulin production

​Check that your answers on the paper are correct!

​Check that your answers on the paper are correct!

Poll

What do you think, could Elisa have diabetes?

• Yes, Elisa could have diabetes.

• No, Elisa doesn't have diabetes.