Caption

Education for diabetes. Elderly diabetic man and his family receive instruction by a hospital nurse (at centre) on how to inject insulin. Diabetes mellitus is a carbohydrate metabolism disorder. It is a disease in which sugars in the body are not oxidised to produce energy due to a lack of the pancreatic hormone insulin. Unused sugars thus accumulate in the blood and the urine. And fats which are used as an alternative energy source lead to a build-up of ketones in the blood that may cause convulsions and diabetic coma. Treatment is based on a strict diet and the use of daily insulin injections to maintain the blood-sugar balance.