An example of an internal influence that disrupts the negative feedback system of blood glucose regulation is diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease in which the body is not able to absorb enough glucose into cells or does not get converted into glycogen, either because of the lack of insulin in the body or because the body does not respond to the insulin properly. Because the negative feedback system is not functioning, the glucose in the blood can increase to dangerous levels as there is no/not enough insulin to re-establish homeostasis. This can result in more health problems if the glucose levels in blood remains too high for long periods of …show more content…
This disease is when the body’s immune system mistakes the beta cells (which produces and secretes insulin) as an intruder to the body and thus destroys the beta cells, eventually destroying all beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin is produced and secreted by beta cells, this means without beta cells the body is not able to produce insulin anymore,the hormone required to help cells absorb the glucose in the blood through its membrane (and signal the liver to store excess glucose as glycogen). When cells don’t get enough glucose, it cannot obtain energy for the body to use, thus the body will eventually die from lack of energy. To help re-establish blood glucose homeostasis, the person with this disease have to increase insulin levels in the form of medication. This allows the body to have enough insulin to signal to cells to take in the glucose that is flowing in the bloodstream, bringing the blood glucose levels up and reestablishing blood glucose regulation. Because there is no negative feedback mechanism, the patient must take the correct dosage of insulin to ensure the insulin levels are not too high that it will cause the glucose levels to be dangerously too …show more content…
This type of diabetes is when the body doesn’t respond to insulin correctly because of the lack of insulin receptors (glycoproteins) in the membrane (the picture on the left is what a normal cells looks like, type 2 diabetics have less insulin receptors embedded into the membrane), making it harder for insulin to find and bind with a receptor and allow the glucose to enter the cell through the GLUTs. Thus the glucose levels in the blood remain too high. As a response, the pancreas produces and release more insulin into the bloodstream. But if left untreated too long, overtime the pancreas is not able to keep up with the high demand of insulin, gradually losing the capacity to produce enough insulin. To help re-establish the blood glucose levels back down to its normal range, the person must increase the body’s insulin supply into the blood by either injecting insulin into the bloodstream or taking a tablet. Other ways type 2 diabetics manage this disease is by eating less sugary and high carbs contained foods, exercising regularly and losing weight. This helps the body to decrease the demand for insulin and