Diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are chronically elevated. One of the most dangerous complications of diabetes is a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which is caused by the body being unable to use glucose as an energy...
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute complication of diabetes that is a life-threatening emergency. It is more common in patients with type 1 diabetes, but may also occur in type 2 diabetes. Some patients find out that they have diabetes after...
Dangerously high blood glucose levels--over 300 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)--can cause life-threatening complications. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs mostly in type 1 diabetics, but can occur in type 2 diabetics in some cases. In DKA,...
Ketones are metabolic byproducts of fatty acid metabolism. In the diabetic patient, the presence of ketones in the blood are indicative of a state known as diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, whereby there is an uncontrolled increase in blood glucose,...
Ketones are produced when your body breaks down fat to use as energy. For people with diabetes, ketone production is a sign that they don't have enough insulin to remove glucose from their blood and allow it to enter their cells. Blood glucose...
Diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) is a serious complication of diabetes in children. According to the Merck Manuals, it is most common in patients with type 1 diabetes, which generally develops in children and adolescents, but can also present in...
Seroquel is a brand name for the antipsychotic medication quetiapine fumerate, which is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and specific components of bipolar disorder. Individuals who take Seroquel have an increased risk of developing...
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder of glucose metabolism. Diabetes can be caused by the lack of insulin or lack of response to insulin, which results in glucose elevation. Glucose is the most readily available energy source for the body. When glucose...
Cerebral edema is the medical term for brain swelling. By definition, it is an increase in the amount of water in the brain, according to Dr. Jeffrey Frank in "Principles of Critical Care." It can cause part of the brain to shift, which leads to...
Hyperglycemia is the medical term for blood sugar levels that are higher than normal or above the range set for you by your doctor. People with diabetes are at risk for hyperglycemia, which can be caused by overeating, insufficient medication,...
Abdominal pain is a discomfort experienced in the region between the chest and the groin. The location of pain in the abdomen is a clue to the disease process causing the pain. Abdominal pain can originate from the organs of digestion as well as...
Chemical reactions occur in the human body every moment. The lungs and kidneys work together to keep the body in chemical balance, maintaining a pH close to neutral. When the level of acidic chemicals in the blood is abnormally elevated, the body...
A thready, or weak, pulse manifests either as a pulse that is difficult to detect in a particular area, or a pulse that is weak throughout the entire body. In the case of a weak pulse in a specific artery, the cause is often human error, such as...
Glucose, produced by the breakdown of carbohydrate, is the body’s primary source of fuel. When forced to burn fat for fuel instead, acids called ketones are generated. Excess ketone production causes the blood to become too acidic. As your...
The body's preferred fuel is sugar, or glucose. If insufficient glucose is available to the body's cells, fat is used as an alternate energy source. However, the utilization of fat for energy produces acidic chemicals called ketones. A buildup of...
Diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, occurs when the body lacks enough insulin to process blood glucose as a source of energy. This complication usually happens in people with type 1 diabetes, who have little or no insulin in their bodies. When this...
Any surgery carries inherent risks, including the risk of excessive bleeding, infection and death. These complications are typically rare, and millions of operations are performed each year without major complications. But the story for...
More than 50 percent of survey respondents who require insulin therapy have skipped their insulin to lose weight, according to a research report in the February 2010 issue of "Diabetes Care." Approximately 20 percent of the people surveyed skip...
Glucose is a sugar found in foods, but it is also made by the body to provide for the cells' energy needs. The body also produces insulin, a hormone that helps the cells use glucose. When the body either cannot produce enough insulin, or does not...
Medtronic manufactures a number of insulin pumps designed for people with diabetes to be able to easily monitor their blood sugar levels. Instead of using injections, an insulin pump can deliver the correct amount of insulin according to the...
Doctors diagnose more than 13,000 children in the U.S. each year with type 1 diabetes, according to AtHealth.com. Perhaps more alarming, more children and adolescents are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition typically seen in people...
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, metabolic acidosis is defined as too much acid in the body fluids. This buildup of acid can result from an increased acid production or acid ingestion, decreased acid excretion or loss of...
Diabetes is characterized by elevated blood sugar levels due to abnormalities of insulin production by the pancreas and abnormal insulin function, or both. The adverse effects of chronic high blood sugar render diabetes the most common cause of...
It is estimated that 20 million Americans have diabetes, a disease where the body loses its ability to properly produce and use insulin. Diabetes is a progressive disease that must be managed well to slow its advancement. Beyond the importance of...
Geodon (ziprasidone) is a medication used to manage such psychiatric illnesses as schizophrenia (condition in which you hallucinate) and the euphoric stage of bipolar disorder, a mental disease characterized by fluctuating depression and extreme...
Many people pay more attention to maintaining their external appearance than their internal health and do not even understand the intricate processes that take place in the body's cells, organs, tissues and bloodstream. But when your blood sugar...
Excessive urination and weight loss can occur in a number of medical conditions, but they are most classically associated with diabetes mellitus. This is a disease characterized by excessive amounts of glucose in your blood, and it can have...
Amaryl (glimeperide) is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. This particular type of diabetes is non-insulin dependent. This means that your body produces insulin to lower your blood sugar levels, but your body doesn't respond to it....
A blood glucose level over 400 is a medical emergency. Even if you are not symptomatic, you need to let your doctor know that your blood sugar is this high because you are at risk for a diabetic coma and possibly death. When your blood sugar is...
