Even after spending months in the on-going pandemic, there is no clear information or where did it come from, how does it progress, how to kill it. Likewise, there is an ambiguity regarding its damages caused to the human body. Now that everyone knows diabetic patients are at high risk of getting coronavirus, another question that pops here is; can coronavirus cause diabetes type 2 in any person? To everyone’s surprise, yes it may.
Lately, one research implied that coronavirus may be involved in a sudden onset of diabetic symptoms that need insulin to make the body function well. This possibility came forward after a 19-year-old patient from Germany developed diabetes type 2 after he got coronavirus. However, he didn’t exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19 and was recognized as an asymptomatic patient.
A few weeks before when these diabetes type 2 symptoms first appeared, this patient’s parents were infected with the coronavirus. Reportedly they were diagnosed with COVID-19 after returning from a skiing trip to Austria. Shortly after that, this whole family was diagnosed positive. But somehow, this young boy never developed the signs of COVID-19 and remained asymptomatic.
After he was taken to the hospital, he lost weight drastically and became extremely weak. He was urinating more than normal and his sugar levels exceeded so much that it crossed 550 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). For comparison, normal blood sugar is around 140 mg/dL.
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Initially, the doctor assumed that he has type 1 diabetes but later on he was identified carrying a genetic variant that is not generally linked with diabetes type 1.
In addition to this, he didn’t have antibodies that these type 1 diabetic patients normally contain. So what is this? Was it type 2 diabetes or any new type of diabetes? Is it a possibility for a person to develop another type of diabetes on his own especially after contracting a virus?
This new case has confused the medical experts. No one is sure if this condition is caused by the coronavirus or the boy was already having diabetes type 2. Some of them believe that it is possible for the boy to have pre-existing diabetes which was probably never identified before.
The authors of this study Dr. Matthias Laudes from the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein think that there may be a reason for how COVID-19 induced diabetes type 2 in this case. The complete findings of this study are published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
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Coronavirus enters inside the cells through protein receptors called ACE2. These receptors are thoroughly spread in the body even in the pancreas. The beta cells inside the pancreas are responsible for making insulin which regulates sugar levels inside the body. In the case of COVID-19, there s a chance that the virus affects or damages the beta cells that in turn change insulin production. Hence a person may get diabetes type 2 after being attacked by a coronavirus.
Understanding the relation between diabetes type 2 and coronavirus needs more explanation and the only way to confirm it through extensive research and case studies analysis. Whatever the reason is, people should be made aware of these possibilities so that they can check for any unusual symptom and get medical help immediately.
