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Definition
Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormally high level of sugar, or glucose, to build up in the blood. In type 2 diabetes -- previously called non-insulin dependent or adult-onset diabetes - this rise occurs even though the body is producing insulin, which body cells normally use to convert blood glucose into energy.


MEDICAL REVIEW: Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD, June 2004

SOURCE DOCUMENTATION: Diabetes Care, 26 Supplement, 1 January 2003, S21-S24

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