Abstract
Among several hundred children with IDDM, 22 had a fasting BG fortituously measured 5 years to 6 months prior to the clinical onset of the disease, because of intercurrent illness or minor surgery. Fasting BG averaged 107 ± 27 mg/dl (SD) VS 79 ± 09 mg/dl in controls studied in similar conditions (p< 0.001), with a wide range of values from 53 to 152 mg/dl in patients. Among them 16 (77%) had fasting BG over 106 mg/dl, with a delay to the diagnosis of IDDM ranging from 5 years to 6 months. All of them were asymptomatic and had no familial history of IDDM. Abnormal BG (> 200 mg/dl) and insulin (< 30 μg/ml) responses were documented in 4 of them during an OGTT. These data, rarely available in children with IDDM, indicate that the clinical onset of the disease may be preceeded by a long period of minor hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinism. At the time when the efficiency of immunosuppressive therapies at the very onset of IDDM is under investigation, a systematic screening of BG in children may proove useful.
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Chaussain, J., Colle, M., Bougnekes, P. et al. Fasting blood glucose (BG) concentration long before the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes melitus (IDDM) in children. Pediatr Res 18, 1212 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00068
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00068