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The onset of type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes, is typically sudden: an individual visits his or her health care provider and discovers the existence of symptoms of high blood sugar. In type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system kills the cells that produce insulin, ultimately eliminating completely insulin production by the person’s body. Without insulin, cells cannot absorb sugar. The most frequent symptoms of this condition include increased urination, sensation of dry mouth, thirst, hunger, blurred vision, weight loss, pain in the hands or feet, and frequent infections.

Insulin, produced in the pancreas regulates metabolism and removes excess glucose from the blood. Type pdb 9INS, shown here in a hexamer, highlights the threefold symmetry, the zinc ion that holds it together as well as the histidine residue involved in binding. (Wikimedia Commons)

Type 2 diabetes, also called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, can affect people at any age, although it usually occurs in middle-aged and older people. Obesity and physical inactivity are causes more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Associated with type 2 diabetes, is insulin resistance—a condition that occurs when fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin to carry glucose into the body’s cells.