An 8-year-old obese girl, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The child will have to start taking insulin injections and not oral drugs because _________.
a. The child has the type of diabetes in which the body doesn’t make any insulin
b. All the oral medications for diabetes cause significant weight gain
c. Oral drugs are not suitable for children because they inhibit a child’s growth
d. Oral drugs for diabetes are metabolized slowly in children and it is difficult to adjust the dose properly
a. The child has the type of diabetes in which the body doesn’t make any insulin
The correct answer is a. The child has the type of diabetes in which the body doesn’t make any insulin.
In this scenario, the 8-year-old obese girl has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce insulin, a hormone that is essential for regulating blood sugar levels.
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the complete absence or severe deficiency of insulin production, which is why insulin injections are necessary for managing the condition. Oral medications, which are typically used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, are not effective for Type 1 diabetes because they work by increasing insulin sensitivity or promoting insulin production by the pancreas, which is not possible in the absence of functional beta cells.