According to the American Diabetes Association, 28.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with diabetes. Of these, there are 215,000 children under 20 affected by the disease. About 1 in 400 children and adolescents suffer from diabetes. Diabetes is divided into type 1 and type 2. Diabetes is a chronic condition that will require treatment throughout the patient's life. In this article I will explain the differences between the two and focus on treating type 1 diabetes. There are several ways to manage type 1 diabetes. Fine needle syringe, insulin pen or insulin pump. Should the pump be a necessary form of treatment instead of the other two options? To answer this question, the basis of the research paper will be how effectively the pump regulates blood sugar compared to the other 2 types of treatments. Diabetes, also known as high blood sugar levels, develops when the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot properly use the insulin it produces. Diabetes has been around since the 1500s. The ancient Chinese described the signs of diabetes as "large amounts of urine." (Beaser 2). It was only the ancient Greeks who actually gave diabetes its name, which meant "to flow through." (Beaser 2) Later the Latins added the word mellitus, meaning sweet urine. The medical term is now diabetes mellitus. To understand the many ways to treat diabetes, you must first understand what diabetes is and how your body reacts to it. Everyone needs food to survive, without food you will starve. Once we put food in our mouths, our body breaks it down to be used as fuel by our body's cells. This process is called metabolism. The food is… middle of paper… that insulin pumps “could lead to better blood sugar control for people with type 1 diabetes” (Gruman). Ramin Alemzadeh, MD, director of the diabetes program at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, cautioned that although researchers reported that the pumps could improve glucose control overall, pediatric patients should not expect big changes in long-term blood sugar control. " "In our experience we do not observe a significant overall improvement in blood sugar beyond six months to a year of treatment in most children. Initially, patients' HBA1c levels improve, but after a while 'Levels begin to increase and are not significantly different from what they began with.' “Patients' diabetes management starts with them and their family. Their success depends on the insulin delivery method they use.” (Gruman)