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ALL ABOUT DIABETES

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm
Faith Lapidus. And I'm Bob Doughty.
Today, we (1) ……tell about…… the disease diabetes. The
United Nations World Health Organization says diabetes (2) …………
killed………… more than (3) …1 million………………… people
around the world in (4) ……2005………………. The W.H.O. says the
disease was also involved in many other deaths. It warns that deaths
linked to diabetes are likely to (5) ………………increase…… by more
than (6) …50%………………… in the next (7) …………10years…………
without urgent (8) ……action……………….

Diabetes is the (9) …name………………… for a medical condition in

which (10) ……too much……………… glucose, or sugar, builds up in
the blood. Diabetes develops when the body does not (11) …………
make………… enough of the hormone insulin or makes no insulin at
all. It also can develop when the body is not able to (12) ………………
use…… the insulin that is made. The body (13) ……
changes……………… food into a sugar called glucose. Glucose enters
the blood and is taken to cells in all parts of the body. Insulin helps
the muscles, organs and (14) …tissues………………… take in the
glucose and change it into (15) …………energy………….

The pancreas is the organ that produces insulin. When too much
glucose is in the blood, the pancreas produces the (16) ……
necessary……………… insulin and sends it into the blood. The
insulin (17) …………reduce………… the level of blood sugar by letting
it enter cells. Diabetes is (18) ………present…………… when too much
glucose (19) ……………remain in the blood and does not enter cells.

If the amount of glucose in the blood remains too (20) ……………

high………, it begins to damage the body. (21) …
overtime…………………, diabetes can cause blindness, kidney disease,
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and nerve damage. High glucose levels in the blood also can lead to
strokes and (22) …heart disease…………………. Blood flow also is
affected, (23) especially…………………… in the legs. Often, victims of
diabetes must have a foot or even a leg removed because of
problems linked to the disease. Diabetes patients are more (24) ………
likely…………… than other people to die of heart disease or kidney
failure.
There are two main (25) …kinds………………… of diabetes: type
one and type two. Type one diabetes generally affects (26) ……………
children……… and young people. It results from a lack of insulin
(27) …production…………………. The exact cause is not known. But
some (28) …experts………………… believe the body's defenses against
disease for some reason destroy the cells that produce insulin.
Signs of the disease may develop (29) …suddenly………………….
People (30) …suffering………………… from type one Diabetes may
develop a strong desire for food or something to (31) ……………
drink………. Other signs are increased production of liquid wastes,
loss of body weight, changes in (32) ……eyesight……………… and
feeling extremely (33) ………tired……………. People with type one
diabetes almost always need (34) ……daily……………… injections of
insulin.
Diabetes patients must always know their blood sugar levels.
When glucose levels are too (35) …………high…………, they must use
insulin to reduce them. Type one patients must inject insulin every
day, often (36) …several………………… times. Type two patients may
use medicines that help reduce their glucose levels.
The World Health Organization estimates that about (37) …………
90%………… of people with diabetes worldwide have type two. This
kind of diabetes was seen only in adults until (38) ………
recently……………. It is now being increasingly seen in children
who are very (39) ……fat……………….
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Most people with type two diabetes are (40) …
overweight………………… and need physical (41)
excersice……………………. Their bodies cannot produce enough insulin
to reduce glucose levels in their blood. Or their bodies do not (42)
………react…………… correctly to the insulin being produced.

Signs of type two diabetes are similar to those of type one. But
experts say many people with type two diabetes have no signs. (43)
………………as the result…… the disease may not be recognized
until after the patient has already begun to develop medical (44)
………problems…………….

Steve Fuchs is a (45) ……dental……………… health expert who

lives in Washington, D.C. When he was fifty years old, he became
concerned about an (46) ……unusual……………… feeling in his feet.
So he went to a foot doctor.
The doctor said the unusual feeling could be an early sign of
diabetes. He urged Mister Fuchs to seek (47) ……
immediate……………… medical help. The foot doctor was (48)
………………correct……. Steve Fuchs was found to have type two
diabetes. Steve says he was not (49) …………really………… surprised
because his (50) ………father…………… and other family members
also had the disease.
Experts say genes seem to be important in the (51)
development…………………… of diabetes. They say that about (52) ………
90%…………… of those with type two diabetes have family members
who also had the disease.
In recent years, scientists have found several genes linked to
type two diabetes. Some also are linked to being (53) ……
extremely……………… overweight. Medical experts say people with
type two diabetes can take (54) ………step…………… to help their cells
get more glucose from the blood. This can be done with medicine,
increased physical exercise and dietary changes.
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Allison Brown is a (55) ………mother…………… of two young
children. She lives with her family in Cleveland, Ohio. She
discovered her extremely high blood sugar levels a few years ago
after a blood test required by an insurance (56) …
company…………………. She had never experienced any signs of
diabetes. Miz Brown says she was fairly surprised to (57) ………………
learn…… the test results. But at the same time she was not (58)
…………shocked………… because her grandmother and great
grandmother also had diabetes. Her doctor immediately (59) ……………
treat……… her with medicine to reduce her blood sugar levels. She
began (60) …exercise………………… more and changed her diet.

Today, Miz Brown takes medicine and eats no carbohydrates or

sugar and not a lot of (61) …food…………………. Carbohydrates such as
(62) ………potatoes……………, pasta and (63) …rice…………………
appear in the blood as sugar. And many kinds of fruit enter the
blood as sugar.
Allison Brown measured her blood sugar levels even more (64)
………carefully…………… when she became (65) ………………
pregnant……. She says pregnancy can be (66) …
dangerous………………… for a diabetic person without medical
supervision.
She visited her doctors often and had many tests. She also began
injecting insulin instead of taking (67) …………pills………… to control
her blood sugar. She changed back to taking the medicine after each
of her children was (68) ………born…………….

Miz Brown says it is important for people to measure their blood

sugar levels so diabetes can be discovered before it begins to
damage the body. She says diabetes changes your life, but you will
be (69) ……healthier……………… as a result of medical (70) ……
treatment……………….

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Allison Brown knew she had diabetes before she became
pregnant. But some women develop (71) …unexpected…………………
diabetes during pregnancy. This is called gestational diabetes, and
usually (72) …………disappear………… after the baby is born.
Hormones produced during pregnancy slowly stop the (73) ……
action……………… of insulin in the body.

(74) …usually…………………, the woman's pancreas is able to

produce more insulin to answer this change. If not, sugar levels will
increase, and the woman will develop gestational diabetes.
Treatment for gestational diabetes is (75) ………similar…to…………
the treatment for type two diabetes: dietary changes and exercise.
Some women also may need to take insulin. Medical researchers
say gestational diabetes increases the (76) …………risk………… of the
developing child having diabetes (77) …later………………… in life.
Also, women who have had it are at a (78) ………60%……………
increased risk of developing type two diabetes. But doctors say
women can reduce that risk by (79) …………keeping………… a healthy
weight and exercising.
Women who develop gestational diabetes know they are at
increased risk for the disease. Others who get type two diabetes have
(80) ……no ideas……………… they may develop it. That is why
medical experts say it is so important for people to get health (81)
……………examination………, because diabetes can be (82) …………
prevented…………. Doctors have identified a condition they call
pre-diabetes. This is when a person has higher than normal levels of
glucose in the blood, but not high enough to be considered diabetes.
Doctors say people with this condition can reduce the (83) ………
chance…………… of getting diabetes by increasing exercise and
eating low-fat foods. At least two kinds of medicine have been
shown to be (84) ……effective……………… in preventing diabetes in
people with pre-diabetes.
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Doctors say healthy people should have their blood sugar tested
(85) …………every year…………, especially those with a family
history of diabetes. That way, they will have a chance to change
their medical futures and prevent or (86) ……delay……………… the
development of diabetes.