Ailments and Situations - Diabetes - Other Types

Other Types / Secondary Diabetes Mellitus

The final category of diabetes is called other types or secondary diabetes mellitus. This category includes all other possibilities for having DM. They include diseases of the pancreas that destroy b-cells such as pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis. Hormonal syndromes, such as Cushing's syndrome or acromegaly, which interfere with insulin secretion or action, can also lead to diabetes. There is another condition called iatrogenic or drug-induced diabetes caused by drugs that can interfere with insulin secretion or action. These drugs include phenytoin, glucocorticoids, estrogen, some diuretics and antihypertensives. This condition usually disappears when drug use is discontinued. Some people suffer from rare conditions involving abnormalities of the insulin receptor, rendering the insulin ineffective. There are also a variety of rare genetic syndromes in which DM occurs more frequently than in the general population for reasons yet to be understood. Some people produce autoantibodies that attach to and block insulin receptors. Recently, there have been several families described in which point mutations have been identifies in the insulin gene which causes amino acid substitutions at the receptor binding site on the insulin molecule. The insulin cannot bind to the cells to transport glucose into the cell for use.