US actress Michelle Trachtenberg died from complications caused by diabetes, authorities revealed yesterday, two months after her tragic death.
The 39-year-old, best known for playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s younger sister Dawn Summers, was found dead at her home in New York after officers responded to a 911 call in February.
She had recently received a liver transplant, but the cause of her death was unclear at the time.
Medical investigators in the city did not perform a post-mortem examination, but said toxicology tests found Michelle died of complications from diabetes mellitus.
It is unclear whether the Gossip Girl star had type 1 or type 2 diabetes, but complications of both types of the conditions are similar.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot produce insulin — a hormone that controls the level of sugar in the blood — or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces
When this happens, blood sugar levels can become dangerously high or low, that without treatment could lead to range of long-term complications, including permanent eye problems and nerve damage which can result in the loss of limbs.
Here MailOnline explains exactly how the condition can also become deadly.
US actress Michelle Trachtenberg died from complications caused by diabetes , authorities revealed yesterday, two months after her tragic passing. Pictured in LA in 2023
The 39-year-old, best known for her roles in Gossip Girl (pictured) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer was found dead at her home in New York in February
Hypoglycemia
There are many reasons why diabetes patients may experience low blood sugar, known medically as hypoglycemia.
Simply aging or suffering from several chronic health conditions makes people more vulnerable to the condition.
Some may also develop it as a byproduct of injecting too much insulin, making blood sugar levels too low.
Improvements in medical technology, however, have made excess insulin far less likely than it once was.
Hypoglycemia can starve the brain of oxygen leading to brain damage, as well as triggering irregular heartbeats, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
‘Hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, is one of the most common serious adverse effects of diabetes, causing both immediate and long-term harm,’ Dr Rozalina McCoy, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic says.
‘Severe hypoglycemia, when another person is needed to help the patient treat their hypoglycemic event, is associated with increased risk of death, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, falls and fractures, and poor quality of life.’
Trachtenberg – who got her start as a child performer – was pictured weeks before her passing in an Instagram selfie
Almost 4.3 million people were living with diabetes in 2021/22, according to the latest figures for the UK. And another 850,000 people have diabetes and are completely unaware of it, which is worrying because untreated type 2 diabetes can lead to complications including heart disease and strokes. Around 400,000 are believed to have type 1
Signs of severe hypoglycemia include an altered mental state, fainting or losing consciousness, feeling incredibly weak and even suffering seizures.
According to the American Diabetes Association, glucagon, preferably ready-to-use injections, should be used to treat severe hypoglycemia.
Glucagon is a hormone produced by the pancreas that raises blood sugar levels. The injections work by causing the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream.
Hyperglycaemia
Hyperglycaemia or a hyper, meanwhile, occurs when blood sugar levels are too high.
It happens because the body either can’t produce enough of the hormone insulin, or the insulin it makes doesn’t work very well.
But the condition can prove fatal in severe cases due to complications like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) if left untreated.
Prolonged hyperglycemia can also cause damage to major organs, increasing the risk of complications like heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.
Medical investigators in the city did not perform a post-mortem examination, but said toxicology tests found Michelle died of complications from diabetes mellitus
HHS is caused by the body trying to get rid of excess sugar, causing cells to become dehydrated — it tends to affect people with type 2 diabetes.
‘The loss of water makes the blood more concentrated,’ Diabetes UK says.
Called hyperosmolarity, it means the blood has ‘too much salt, glucose, and other substances, drawing water out of the body’s organs, including the brain’.
Multiple factors can trigger hyperglycaemia, including missing a dose of your medication, eating more carbohydrates than the body can cope with, stress, being unwell from an infection and accidentally over-treating a hypo.
Common symptoms include going for a wee a lot, especially at night, being really thirsty, feeling more tired than usual, thrush or other recurring bladder and skin infections.
Hyperglycaemia can also be triggered by the condition diabulimia, which can also prove fatal.
It is an eating disorder, which only affects type 1 diabetics, that develops after people reduce or stop taking insulin to lose weight.
Diabulimia isn’t actually a real medical term, but health professionals now generally refer to the condition as T1DE.
It is unclear just how many people suffer with the illness, however, figures suggest roughly 30 per cent of people with type 1 diabetes have an eating disorder.
Reducing or stopping taking insulin completely, raises blood sugar levels, triggering hyperglycaemia.
Any calories people take in, pass straight through and out of the body in the urine, meaning they can’t get the energy they need from food and body fat is broken down instead.
It is unclear whether the Gossip Girl star had type 1 or type 2 diabetes, but complications of both types of the conditions are similar
Ketoacidosis
Diabetic ketoacidosis, also known as DKA, is a life-threatening complication — when harmful substances called ketones can build up in the body.
This happens when the body doesn’t have enough insulin, forcing the liver to break down fat for energy — a process that produces ketones.
A high number of ketones causes your blood to become acidic, ultimately proving fatal without treatment.
It is more likely to affect those with type 1 or people taking SGLT2 inhibitors, a class of medications used by some type 2 patients to lower blood sugar levels.
But it can also strike other people on tablets or without a diagnosis too.
According to Diabetes UK causes of the condition include illnesses such as a chest infection, flu or urinary tract infection (UTI).
Missing insulin doses, a faulty insulin pump, surgery, heart attacks, strokes, and high blood sugar caused by having your period, are other common triggers.
Excessive thirst, frequent urination, vomiting, stomach pain, shortness of breath, confusion, and fruity-scented breath, are also common symptoms of the condition.
This is because ketoacidosis produces high levels of the chemical acetone, which has a hallmark fruity smell.
Officials have long warned that patients who believe they may have DKA must be admitted to hospital immediately for urgent treatment.
Here, patients are given insulin, fluids and nutrients through a drip into the veins and are kept under monitoring.
Complications of DKA include significant brain changes such as swelling, known medically as cerebral edema and neurological damage.
