Glossary of Diabetes - T

T

Team management

A diabetes treatment approach in which medical care is provided by a physician, physician assistant, diabetes educator, dietitian, and behavioral scientist working together with the patient.

Thrush

An infection of the mouth. In people with diabetes, this infection may be caused by high levels of glucose (sugar) in mouth fluids, which helps the growth of fungus that causes the infection. Patches of whitish-colored skin in the mouth are signs of this disease.

Tolazamide

A pill taken to lower the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Only some people with noninsulin-dependent diabetes take these pills. See also: Oral hypoglycemic agents. (Tolinase)

Tolbutamide

A pill taken to lower the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Only some people with noninsulin-dependent diabetes take these pills. See also: Oral hypoglycemic agents. (Orinase)

Toxemia of pregnancy (preeclampsia)

A condition in pregnant women involving high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and edema. It can harm both mother and child, but resolves after delivery. The first signs of toxemia are swelling near the eyes and ankles (edema), headache, high blood pressure, and weight gain that the mother might confuse with the normal weight gain of being pregnant. The mother may have both glucose (sugar) and acetone in her urine. The mother should tell the doctor about these signs at once. Women who become diabetic during their pregnancies have a 15% higher chance of developing preeclampsia; women who are diabetic before becoming pregnant have a 30% chance of developing preeclampsia.

Toxic

Harmful; having to do with poison.

Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS)

A treatment for painful neuropathy.

Trauma

Triglyceride

Twenty-four hour urine

The total amount of a person's urine for a 24-hour period.

Diabetes mellitus type 1

It is a chronic condition in which the pancreas makes little or no insulin because the beta cells have been destroyed. About two-thirds of body cells require insulin to absorb glucose and in its absence, they will not be able to use the glucose (blood sugar) for energy. Type 1 diabetes usually comes on abruptly, although the damage to the beta cells may begin much earlier. Typical signs of Type 1 diabetes are a great thirst, hunger, a need to urinate often, and loss of weight. To treat the disease, the person must inject insulin and test blood glucose frequently. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children and adults who are under age 30. This type of diabetes used to be known as "insulin-dependent diabetes," "juvenile diabetes," "juvenile-onset diabetes" and "ketosis-prone diabetes."

Diabetes mellitus type 2

The most common form of diabetes mellitus; about 90 to 95 percent of people who have diabetes in the developed world have Type 2 diabetes. Unlike Type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas makes no insulin, people with Type 2 diabetes produce some insulin, sometimes even large amounts. However, either their bodies do not produce enough insulin or their body cells are resistant to insulin (see Insulin Resistance). People with Type 2 diabetes can often control their condition by losing weight through diet and exercise. If not, they may need to combine insulin or a pill with diet and exercise. Generally, Type 2 diabetes occurs in people who are over age 40. Most of the people who have this type of diabetes are overweight. This type of diabetes used to be known as "noninsulin-dependent diabetes," "adult-onset diabetes," "maturity-onset diabetes," "ketosis-resistant diabetes" and "stable diabetes."