Blood Test can Predict Type 1 Diabetes in Young Children

A new research has found that it is possible to detect the development of type 1 diabetes in young children, by measuring the presence of autoantibodies in the blood. The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study conducted by Lund University explained that with the early detection it would be possible to predict whether the immune system in children has begun to break down the body's own insulin cells or not.

The team of researchers mentioned that if the autoantibody that was discovered first attacks the insulin (IAA) than it could be taken as a indication of development of type 1 diabetes, or if the first autoantibody targets GAD65 (GADA), a protein inside the insulin-producing cells or if both autoantibodies are found together initially.

Ake Lernmark, lead researcher said that they have realized that autoantibodies often appear during the first few years of life and the presence of antibodies in the blood was a sign that the immune system has reacted to an intruder such as a virus or a bacteria.

The research showed that 6.5 percent of children had their first autoantibody before the age of 6, as 44 percent of young kids had an autoantibody against insulin (IAA) by the age of 1-2, 38 percent of kids were detected with GAD65 autoantibodies until the age of two and then remained constant, and almost 14 percent of little kids had both autoantibodies at the age of 2-3.

The study is published in the journal Diabetologia.

Source-Medindia