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Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia is a condition where there is not enough glucose, or sugar, in the blood. Levels of blood sugar are below 4 mmol/L (72mg/dL). Hypoglycemia is often related to the treatment of diabetes. However, a variety of conditions — many rare — can cause low blood sugar in people without diabetes. Like fever, hypoglycemia isn't a disease itself — it's an indicator of a health problem. Immediate treatment of hypoglycemia is necessary when blood sugar levels are at 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 3.9 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) or below. Treatment involves quick steps to get your blood sugar level back into a normal range either with high-sugar foods or drinks or with medications. Long-term treatment requires identifying and treating the underlying cause of hypoglycemia. Although people usually think about the long-term complications when it comes to diabetes, short-term or acute problems can also occur. Both low blood sugar levels (hypoglyce...

What is Thalassemia? Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Anemia is a condition in which your body doesn’t have enough normal, healthy red blood cells. Thalassemia is inherited, meaning that at least one of your parents must be a carrier of the disease. It’s caused by either a genetic mutation or a deletion of certain key gene fragments. Thalassemia minor is a less serious form of the disorder. There are two main forms of thalassemia that are more serious. In alpha thalassemia, at least one of the alpha globin genes has a mutation or abnormality. In beta thalassemia, the beta globin genes are affected. Each of these forms of thalassemia has different subtypes. The exact form you have will affect the severity of your symptoms and your o...

Diabetes Mellitus Diabetes mellitus: More commonly referred to as "diabetes" -- a chronic disease associated with abnormally high levels of the sugar  glucose  in the blood. Diabetes is due to one of two mechanisms: Inadequate production of  insulin  (which is made by the pancreas and lowers blood glucose), or Inadequate sensitivity of cells to the action of insulin. The two main types of diabetes correspond to these two mechanisms and are called insulin dependent (type 1) and non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes. In type 1 diabetes there is no insulin or not enough of it. In type 2 diabetes, there is generally enough insulin but the cells upon which it should act are not normally sensitive to its action. The signs and symptoms of both types of diabetes include increased urine output and decreased appetite as well as  fatigue . Diabetes is diagnosed by blood glucose testing, the  glucose tolerance test , and testing of the level of...