User talk:Johnjwilliams

The oral glucose tolerance test:
The oral glucose tolerance test:

The oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is a standard test for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Though it is not used these days more frequently, it is still used for diagnosing gestational diabetes.

With an oral glucose tolerance test, the person fasts overnight (at least eight hours). Then first, the fasting plasma glucose is tested.

After this test, the person receives 75 grams of glucose (100 grams for pregnant women).

Blood samples are taken at specific intervals to measure the blood glucose.

The oral glucose tolerance test measures blood glucose levels five times over a period of three hours.

In a person without diabetes, the glucose levels rise and then fall quickly. In Diabetics, the glucose levels rise higher than normal and fail to come back down as fast.

pathophysiology of diabetes:

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the beta cells in the Islets of Langerhans of the pancreas. Insulin is a protein unlike other hormones. Glucose is a simple sugar found in food.

Glucose is an essential nutrient that provides energy for the proper functioning of the body cells.

When there is an increase in the level of blood sugar, insulin is released by the pancreas into the blood.

Insulin helps in the absorption of glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle and it stops the body from using fats as a source of energy.

In the absence of insulin, glucose from the blood is not absorbed by the body cells, thus the body begins to use fats as an energy source. This is when the disease condition, that is Diabetes Mellitus occurs.

In the case of Type I Diabetes, no insulin is produced by the pancreas of the body where as in the case of Type 2 Diabetes, enough or sufficient insulin is not secreted by the body, resulting in the non-absorption of glucose by the body cells resulting in the presence of glucose in the blood and urine.