Insulin level
Sample: Serum
Schedule: Daily
Units: uIU/mL
Range: 7,0 - 35,0
Remarks: Inside the pancreas, beta cells make the hormone Insulin. With each meal, beta cells release insulin to help the body use or store the blood sugar (Glucose) it gets from food. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer makes insulin. The beta cells have been destroyed. They need insulin shots to use glucose from meals. People with Type 2 diabetes make insulin, but their bodies dont respond well to it. Some people with type 2 diabetes need diabetes pills or insulin shots to help their bodies use glucose for energy. The finding of fasting hypoglycemia in association with an inappropriately high serum insulin concentration is considered diagnostic (see also C-Peptide). Insulin level is not used for the classification of different types of diabetes. Nevertheless, when obtained in the course of a Glucose Tolerance Test, they appear to be of some prognostic value in predicting the benefits of insulin therapy and the likelihood of progression to insulin dependence and the complications characteristic of diabetes. Obesity, high carbohydrate diet, and inactivity tend to increase the serum insulin level. Increased Insulin levels are also found after food intake, in acromegaly, in Cushings syndrome, and in thyrotoxicosis. Many diabetic patients develop Insulin Resistance after insulin treatment, due to the formation of Insulin antibodies. These antibodies can cause resistance to Insulin or stimulate the release of insulin at inappropriate times.
Type 1 Diabetes (Insulin dependent): The insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are almost completely demaged and do not produce insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes (Non-insulin dependent): The insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas produce either not enough insulin or the body of the patients becames resistant to the effects of their own insulin.
