Type 1 diabetes results from the body's failure to produce insulin ”the hormone that "unlocks" the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder, resulting from the body's inability to make enough or properly use insulin. A growing number of children and adolescents are developing type 2 diabetes ”a form of diabetes that is generally diagnosed among adults. Type 2 is now in epidemic proportion.

Teens face a number of issues when diagnosed with diabetes, including fear, guilt and anger: fear that they will be judged and considered an outcast; guilt in dealing with parents who want to manage their child's disease; and anger at having to eat differently, test their blood sugar throughout the day and take medication or insulin daily.

JDRF is a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 research. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes children and adults suddenly and requires multiple injections of insulin daily or a continuous infusion of insulin through a pump. Insulin, however, is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation. Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.4 billion to diabetes research, including more than $100 million in FY2009.

Source : KeyVive