ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a common condition in which blood glucose levels are chronically elevated. For the diagnosis, the fasting level of glucose must meet or exceed 126 mg/dl or the haemoglobin A1C must meet or exceed 6.5%, and these two diagnostic criteria usually agree [1]. Diabetes can also be diagnosed by an oral glucose tolerance test or by marked elevations in random blood glucose specimens. Diabetes (especially Type 2) is increasing exponentially in the developed world and the developing world, in part due to increasing food supply. Type 2 diabetes, the onset of which is usually during adulthood, represents 90-95% of all cases of diabetes, is very heritable, and is due in part to obesity and reduced sensitivity of the tissues to insulin. Type 1 diabetes usually has an onset in young individuals (typically less than 30) and is due to an autoimmune
process during which cells and antibodies attack the beta cells of the endocrine pancreas.
