Diabetes Type 2

Diabetes is characterized by a lack of, or decreased effect of the hormone insulin, which results in elevated levels of glucose in the blood. In people with type 1-diabetes the body does not produce insulin, which means that these individuals must be treated with injections of insulin to maintain blood glucose control. People with type 2-diabetes have developed a resistance to insulin, which means that fat, muscle, and liver do not respond to insulin as they should. Currently, people with type 2-diabetes are treated with pharmacological agents to improve blood glucose control, and in some cases supplemented with insulin treatment.

In her research, Harriet Wallberg has investigated the mechanisms behind insulin resistance in type 2-diabetes. She has demonstrated that high levels of fat, stress hormones or inflammatory molecules block the transport of glucose into the cells of the body. Thus, glucose is left in the blood stream, were there is a risk of damage on organs like the kidney or the nervous system. Thus, when treating individuals with diabetes, the overall goal is to normalize blood glucose levels.

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Read more in Harriet Wallberg and Kerstin Brismar’s book about living with diabetes type 2.