+44 2045864995

Scientific Sessions

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when our blood glucose is too high. Blood glucose is our main source of energy that comes from the food we eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food to get into our cells to be used for energy. Sometimes our body doesn’t make insulin well. Glucose then stays in our blood and doesn’t reach to our cells.

There are 2 main types of diabetes:

  • type 1 diabetes – where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
  • type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body's cells do not react to insulin

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2.