Overview
- University of Exeter scientists examined rare postmortem pancreas samples from more than 250 people across ages with and without type 1 diabetes.
- Healthy young children had many small, immature clusters of insulin-producing cells, but these clusters were almost entirely absent in children with the disease.
- The selective destruction of these early clusters helps explain rapid progression, higher emergency risk, and greater insulin requirements when diagnosis occurs under about age seven.
- The findings, published in Science Advances (Murrall et al.; DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adz2251), strengthen the case for earlier screening and research into therapies that protect vulnerable beta-cell clusters.
- Clinicians in India report rising childhood cases and urge parents to watch for the ‘4 Ts’—toilet, thirst, tired, thinner—to catch symptoms early and reduce the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis.