Health and Fitness Information Center

Diabetes Vocabulary, Part 4

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Impaired glucose tolerance. A condition where blood glucose level is between normal and diabetic.

Impotence. The inability in men to get or maintain an erection. A possible complication of diabetes.

Insulin. A hormone produced by the pancreas that enables the body's cells to use glucose. It "tells" the cells to let glucose in. The cells then use glucose as fuel. In type 1 diabetes, a person does not produce insulin. In type 2 diabetes, a person produces insulin, but the body cannot use it properly.

Insulin Pump. A small, computerized, programmable device about the size of a pager that sends a continuous stream of insulin into the bloodstream. It replaces insulin injection.

Insulin resistance. The main problem in type 2 diabetes. The pancreas produces insulin, but the cells do not respond to it properly -- they're resistant.

Jet injector. A gun-like device that injects insulin without needles. It pushes insulin directly through the skin.

Ketones Acidic byproducts of fat metabolism that turn up in the blood and urine as a result of low insulin levels.

Ketoacidosis. An acute complication caused by a lack of insulin in the blood. Without insulin, the cells cannot use glucose. Before they starve, the body breaks down fat for energy. Fat metabolism introduces high levels of ketones into the blood and urine. When ketone blood levels rise, ketoacidosis develops, causing difficulty breathing, coma, and possibly death.

Lancet. The small device used to prick the finger for blood-glucose testing.

mg/dl. Milligrams per deciliter, a unit of measurement denoting the proportion of solids in a liquid medium. Levels of blood glucose are measured in mg/dl.

NIDDM. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes.

Nephropathy. Kidney damage. This potentially life-threatening complication is the result of years of poorly controlled diabetes. Dialysis or a kidney transplant may become necessary