Clinical Knowledge Summaries

Management of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition (body’s immune system turning against itself to cause damage) where the Islets of Langerhans (Iinsulin secreting cells in the pancreas) are targeted by the body’s immune system and causes relative or absolute destruction of the islet cells and a dire lack of insulin secretion. The damage is usually permanent unless the process is identified early and specific treatment can be provided to arrest the autoimmune response. This treatment strategy is still relatively and it is difficult to identify people who have not yet developed symptoms but where the autoimmune process has started to cause damage.

Management of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is thought to result from the interaction between genes and the obesogenic environment we live in. There are non-modifiable risk factors such as age, gender and familial risk. Whilst type 2 diabetes is not exclusive to people with obesity, there is a significant correlation between weight gain and development of diabetes in those at risk. The management of type 2 diabetes typically therefore involves a combination of lifestyle changes, monitoring, medication, and insulin therapy especially with longer duration of disease.

Microvascular complications in diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic medical condition that can affect the entire body and occurs when there is a partial or complete failure to maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels within the normal range. One of the main factors is an absolute or relative lack of insulin in the body and/or lack of effectiveness of insulin (insulin resistance). Insulin is a hormone secreted by special cells (Islets of Langerhans) in the pancreas that helps glucose from food enter the cells to be used for energy and for excess glucose to be stored away for use later.

Macrovascular complications in diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic medical condition that can affect the entire body and occurs when there is a partial or complete failure to maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels within the normal range. One of the main factors is an absolute or relative lack of insulin in the body and/or lack of effectiveness of insulin (insulin resistance). Insulin is a hormone secreted by special cells (Islets of Langerhans) in the pancreas that helps glucose from food enter the cells to be used for energy and for excess glucose to be stored away for use later.

What are the different types of glucose monitors?

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic medical condition that can affect the entire body and occurs when there is a partial or complete failure to maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels within the normal range. One of the main factors is an absolute or relative lack of insulin in the body and/or lack of effectiveness of insulin (insulin resistance). Insulin is a hormone secreted by special cells (Islets of Langerhans) in the pancreas that helps glucose from food enter the cells to be used for energy and for excess glucose to be stored away for use later.

What is continuous glucose monitoring?

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic medical condition that can affect the entire body and occurs when there is a partial or complete failure to maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels within the normal range. One of the main factors is an absolute or relative lack of insulin in the body and/or lack of effectiveness of insulin (insulin resistance). Insulin is a hormone secreted by special cells (Islets of Langerhans) in the pancreas that helps glucose from food enter the cells to be used for energy and for excess glucose to be stored away for use later.

What are the different indicators of blood glucose levels?

Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): This test gives an average of blood glucose levels over the past 2-3 months. It is often used to diagnose and monitor…

What is peri-implantitis?

Peri-implantitis is a condition that affects the tissues surrounding dental implants. It is caused by the accumulation of plaque biofilm and is characterised by inflammation of the peri-implant tissues and a progressive loss of the supporting bone around the implant.

Management of peri-implantitis

The European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) has developed a step-by-step treatment plan for managing peri-implantitis.

Once peri-implantitis has been diagnosed, the treating clinician and patient will need to decide whether the implant and/ or prosthesis is treatable.