IB Biology HL 3.3.4 Diabetes and Risk Factors
Practise analysing HL diabetes evidence, including autoimmune beta-cell loss, insulin sensitivity, risk factors and anti-diabetic treatment data.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2025
- Course
- Biology HL
- Level
- HL
Exam points
- Explain type I diabetes through autoimmune beta-cell destruction and insulin replacement.
- Analyse diabetes-risk and treatment data using controls, incidence, glucose and lipid trends.
- Evaluate insulin sensitivity, symptoms and type II diabetes evidence from biological datasets.
D3.3.4—Diabetes question 1
Type I diabetes is a leading cause of death in advanced countries and is associated with various severe or fatal complications, including blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, neuropathy, and amputations. Embryonic stem cells are considered to be a powerful tool in the treatment of diabetes.
In a study, embryonic stem cells were grown in culture and tested for insulin mRNA. A drug was injected into two groups of healthy mice in order to simulate type I diabetes 15 days prior to the transplant of embryonic stem cells. The mice in the transplant group received embryonic stem cells that produce insulin mRNA. The control group did not receive the transplant. The graph shows the blood glucose concentration in both groups.
Outline the cause of type I diabetes in humans.
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