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Brittle Diabetes
Brittle Diabetes Diabetes that is very difficult to control. It is an antiquated term that has no place in current management of diabetes. In particular it is not a distinct form of diabetes, and usually will respond to a more intensive team approach to care.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Diabetes
A condition in which blood glucose is not well controlled. Type I diabetics make no insulin, whereas type 2 diabetics are characterized by the overproduction of insulin, but the inability of the target cells to respond to the insulin.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
British doctor
A doctor who, being or not a citizen of that country, has been admitted to practice medicine in Great Britain.
British empiricism
Rejects the notion that ideas were implanted in the mind at birth. Instead all complex ideas are built up for the sense organs. Ultimately all knowledge is achieved by associating simple sensations.
Brittle bone disease
Osteogenesis imperfecta, not one but a group of genetic diseases, all of which affect collagen, a key component of connective tissue in tissues like bone, tendon and skin. All types of osteogenesis imperfecta result in fragile bones.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Blood Pressure
The force of the blood on the walls of arteries. Two levels of blood pressure are measured-the higher, or systolic, pressure, which occurs each time the heart pushes blood into the vessels, and the lower, or diastolic, pressure, which occurs when the heart rests. In a blood pressure reading of 120/80, for example, 120 is the systolic pressure and 80 is the diastolic pressure. A reading of 120/80 is said to be the normal range. Blood pressure that is too high can cause health problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
Blood-Sampling Devices
A small instrument for pricking the skin with a fine needle to obtain a sample of blood to test for glucose (sugar).
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN)
A waste product of the kidneys. Increased levels of BUN in the blood may indicate early kidney damage.
Blood Vessels
Tubes that act like a system of roads or canals to carry blood to and from all parts of the body. The three main types of blood vessels are arteries, veins, and capillaries. The heart pumps blood through these vessels so that the blood can carry with it oxygen and nutrients that the cells need or take away waste that the cells do not need.
Bolus
An extra boost of insulin given to cover expected rise in blood glucose (sugar) such as the rise that occurs after eating.
Brittle Diabetes
Balloon Angioplasty (Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty or PTCA)
A specially designed balloon catheter with a small balloon tip is guided to the point of narrowing in the artery. Once in place, the balloon is inflated to compress the fatty matter into the artery wall and stretch the artery open to increase blood flow through the blood vessel.
Beta Blocker
A drug that slows heart rate, lowers blood pressure, controls angina and protects patients with prior heart attacks from future heart attacks.
Bicuspid Valve
A valve with two leaflets (cusps) instead of three.
Bioethicist
Professionals who are skilled in helping people make decisions about what is morally right and wrong.
Blood Clot (thrombus)
A clot forms when clotting factors in the blood cause it to coagulate or become a solid, jelly-like mass. When a blood clot forms inside a blood vessel (a thrombus), it can dislodge and travel through the blood stream, causing a heart attack or stroke.
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