A new study has suggested that there are five different types of diabetes, rather than the two that are currently recognised. This is the main headline in this week’s news round-up, which also includes a heart-warming story about a nurse being rewarded after she walked 10 miles through the snow to treat patients.
Diabetes has Five Categories
We’re all aware that people can be diagnosed with either Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, however scientists in Sweden and Finland are now suggesting that there are five distinct categories of the condition.
Diabetes is one of the most common conditions around the world, with around one in 11 adults being affected worldwide, and also increases the risk of further medical complications such as kidney failure and blindness. Currently, Type 1 is known as a condition of the immune system and affects 10% of people with the condition here in the UK. Type 2 diabetes is believed to be caused by obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle.
This new study, completed by teams at the Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden and the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Finland, looked at 14,775 patients, including a detailed analysis of their blood. This team believe that diabetes can be separated into these five distinct categories:
- Category 1 – Severe autoimmune diabetes, which is broadly similar to the classic Type 1 condition. This category hit people when they were young, seemingly healthy an immune disease left them unable to produce insulin.
- Category 2 – Severe insulin-deficient diabetes patients initially looked very similar to those in category 1 – they were young, had a healthy weight and struggled to make insulin, but the immune system was not at fault.
- Category 3 – Severe insulin-resistant diabetes patients were generally overweight and making insulin, but their body was no longer responding to it.
- Category 4 – Mild obesity-related diabetes was mainly seen in people who were very overweight, but metabolically much closer to normal than those in category 3.
- Category 5 – Mild age-related diabetes patients developed symptoms when they were significantly older than in other groups and their disease tended to be milder.
It is hoped that these discoveries will help doctors to help understand the condition further and predict life-threatening complications more accurately. It is also hoped that better, more precise, treatments could be used on patients.
You can find out more about this new study on The Telegraph website.
Nurse Rewarded for 10-mile Snow Trek
It’s been a tough week for the UK, with the “Beast from the East” causing snow storms across the country. This was then followed by Storm Emma, which has caused conditions to become even worse. Temperatures are below zero and the snow isn’t going aware fast.
The snow has put plenty of strain on businesses and people across the country, including the NHS – however one nurse in Lincoln refused to let the know prevent her from helping patients. Kay Mayer walked through the treacherous conditions for three hours to make it to the Lincoln County Hospital – a 10-mile journey – and care for patients.
Now, Ms Mayer has seen her efforts rewarded by the ‘This Morning’ TV team. The nurse appeared on the show via video link from the hospital and was rewarded with an all-expenses paid trip to Barcelona for her and her 12-year-old son.
Speaking about her trek to the hospital, Ms Mayer told ITV:
‘I love the trust I work at. It’s a great team here. We’ve all rallied round to make sure patients are safe at the hospital. I initially started off thinking it would take me about half an hour, I didn’t realise I worked quite so far from the hospital.
“Then it suddenly dawned on me that the hospital is at the top near the cathedral and it’s all hills around it. As I did my live feed, all my colleagues were keeping us well informed. ‘It wasn’t just myself who walked to work, there were porters who walked over 10 miles as well. Our matrons walked in, our heads of nurses walked in, people tried to get here in their cars, abandoned them and still got here.”
NHS staff across the country have been sleeping in their respective hospitals to help ensure that they can care for their patients.
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