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Card 6 / 11:
In type II diabetes, insulin is produced but is nonfunctional. These patients are described as “starving in a sea of plenty,” because their blood glucose levels are high, but none of the glucose is transported into the cells. Describe how this leads to malnutrition.
Insulin stimulates the uptake of glucose into the cells. In diabetes, the insulin does not function properly; therefore, the blood glucose is unable to be transported across the cell membrane for processing. These patients are unable to process the glucose in their blood and therefore must rely on other sources of fuel. If the disease is not controlled properly, this inability to process the glucose can lead to starvation states even though the patient is eating.
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