Diabetes
“Type 1 diabetes is a terrible disease,” says Dave Serreze, who works relentlessly as a senior staff scientist at The Jackson Laboratory to investigate its causes and find possible cures.
Imagine having to prick your young child’s finger several times a day to draw blood. Imagine them not knowing why you hurt them in this way.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot produce or use insulin, the hormone necessary for converting sugar and other food into energy. An estimated 21 million people in the United States have diabetes, nearly one-third of whom don’t even know it.
Diabetes research at The Jackson Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory researches the two primary types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes, which afflicts about 5 to 10 percent of those with diabetes, was formerly known as “juvenile diabetes” because of its prevalence in children. It’s caused by the body attacking its own cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin. No insulin can be produced, leading to many health problems: heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage and blindness.
- Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, results from the body producing insufficient insulin or being unable to use it properly. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, lack of activity and genetic susceptibility. It is quickly becoming a significant health care problem in the developed world.
Type 1 diabetes focuses on why the body attacks its own cells in the autoimmune response. Type 2 diabetes research addresses it in the context of the myriad genetic and environmental pathways that also lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
