2.1.1 Diagnosing Diabetes

In this activity you will explore how doctors make an initial diagnosis of diabetes as well as characterize the disease. You will complete simulated glucose tolerance testing as well as insulin analysis on three patients and draw conclusions about their disease status based on your findings. By analyzing test results, you will deduce what is happening inside the body when a person has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. You will further explore these diseases throughout this unit.

Your blood always contains trace amounts of glucose, as this simple sugar found in food is used by the body as fuel for everyday activities. Normally the amount of sugar in urine is too low to be detected. If routine testing reveals significant levels of sugar in the urine or a patient complains of excessive thirst or urination, a patient is sent for additional tests to rule out diabetes. An examination of levels of glucose in the blood can provide definitive proof of disease.

Glucose Tolerance Testing (GTT) monitors the amount of sugar in the liquid portion of blood called plasma, over a set time period and gives doctors information as to how the body utilizes sugar.

Because of their symptoms and/or urinalysis results, all three patients were sent to the lab to undergo Glucose Tolerance Testing. Each of the three patients was asked not to eat or drink anything for 12 hours. At the beginning of the appointment, the patient had his/her blood drawn to establish a baseline blood glucose level. Each patient was then asked to drink a concentrated sugar solution. More blood was drawn and the level of glucose in the blood was monitored at varying time intervals to show how glucose was broken down by the body. Normally, blood glucose does not rise very much from baseline and returns to normal within two to three hours.

Which patient would you like to test?