UP1 Diabetes
Instructions: Print off this document and answer the questions at the end of both parts. On the due date for this assignment, you will form groups in class and each group will be given a separate set of questions to answer. The in-class questions will be related to the questions in this document and will be answerable if you have answered the document questions.
Morgan: A Case of Diabetes
By Lisa Rubin and Clyde Freeman Herreid
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Part I
On Morgan Water’s Oklahoma Indian reservation, one fourth of her tribe had diabetes. Of course, she knew that. Everyone had heard that.
Morgan had no family history of diabetes, heart disease, or other serious conditions; she never imagined she was at any risk. However, she overlooked the fact that environmental factors as well as genetic factors play a crucial role in the development of diabetes.
At the age of 27, Morgan was obese and led a sedentary lifestyle. In the past few months, she had been experiencing unusual thirst, dizziness, blurred vision, and an awkward feeling of numbness in her right foot. Following her parents’ advice, she finally visited the family doctor. She was worried, but never suspected what she would hear.
“I’m sorry, Morgan, but the tests I’ve conducted unfortunately reveal that you have Type 2 diabetes. Your symptoms are exactly like those we see in many Native Americans. You have a high blood sugar. In people who aren’t diabetic, the food that is digested gets taken into the blood. A lot of it is in the form of sugar. The blood sugar then is taken into their body tissues with the help of a hormone, called insulin, made by the pancreas organ.”
“Yes, I have heard about that.”
“In your case, you are making enough insulin but your cells don’t act like it is there. Your cells don’t seem to recognize it. So what happens is that when you eat, the sugar in your food doesn’t get inside your cells; it stays in your blood, and so the
Morgan: A Case of Diabetes
By Lisa Rubin and Clyde Freeman Herreid
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Part I
On Morgan Water’s Oklahoma Indian reservation, one fourth of her tribe had diabetes. Of course, she knew that. Everyone had heard that.
Morgan had no family history of diabetes, heart disease, or other serious conditions; she never imagined she was at any risk. However, she overlooked the fact that environmental factors as well as genetic factors play a crucial role in the development of diabetes.
At the age of 27, Morgan was obese and led a sedentary lifestyle. In the past few months, she had been experiencing unusual thirst, dizziness, blurred vision, and an awkward feeling of numbness in her right foot. Following her parents’ advice, she finally visited the family doctor. She was worried, but never suspected what she would hear.
“I’m sorry, Morgan, but the tests I’ve conducted unfortunately reveal that you have Type 2 diabetes. Your symptoms are exactly like those we see in many Native Americans. You have a high blood sugar. In people who aren’t diabetic, the food that is digested gets taken into the blood. A lot of it is in the form of sugar. The blood sugar then is taken into their body tissues with the help of a hormone, called insulin, made by the pancreas organ.”
“Yes, I have heard about that.”
“In your case, you are making enough insulin but your cells don’t act like it is there. Your cells don’t seem to recognize it. So what happens is that when you eat, the sugar in your food doesn’t get inside your cells; it stays in your blood, and so the