Diabetes

Disease marked by secretion of exce ive amounts of urine, called D. mellitus and D. insipid us, according as diabetic sugar is present or absent from the urine. Both varieties are accompanied by great thirst, voracious appetite (usually), lo of strength and of flesh. D. mellitus may be the result of congestion of the liver, the use of large amounts of farinaceous foods and malt liquors, injuries to various portions of the body, mental shocks, and diseases of the nervous system, and is often complicated with boils, diseases of the eye, and consumption. It is often inherited, is most common in middle life, and in males, and is met oftener among Hebrews than other races. It usually results fatally, through exhaustion or coma, in from two to three years. Changes in the liver, kidneys, or pancreas are usually found. D. insipid us is oftener seen in men than in women, may be due to injuries of the brain, sudden checking of the perspiration, inordinate use of cold drinks, fatigue, and a host of other causes, but ordinarily to syphilitic disease of the brain. Death is seldom directly ly due to this variety. D. mellitus is readily induced in animals by s by puncturing a certain point in the fourth ventricle of the brain.