Type I diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes (this name is not adequate as type II diabetes may become insulindependent), is the impaired production of insulin by the pancreas believed to be caused by destruction of cells of the islets of Langerhans by autoantibodies (autoimmunity).
Type II diabetes occurs in the adult individual and it is often diagnosed in people of more advanced age. In type II diabetes there is normal or low secretion of insulin by the pancreas but the main cause of the high glycemia is the peripheral resistance of the cells to the action of the hormone.
