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Insulin injection. Diabetic girl injecting herself in the abdomen with insulin. She has diabetes mellitus. This is a disorder affecting glucose sugar metabolism, where sugar is not oxidised due to a lack of the pancreatic hormone insulin. Unused sugar accumulates in the blood and the urine. Fats are utilised as an alternative energy source, which leads to a build-up of ketones in the blood that may eventually 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. This injector is a Novopen Junior from Novo Nordisk. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/MICHAEL DONNE)