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Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes

Evidence from tissue studies and some people with COVID-19 shows that the virus damages insulin-producing cells.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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In mid-April, Finn Gnadt, an 18-year-old student from Kiel, Germany, learnt that he had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus despite feeling well. Gnadt’s parents had fallen ill after a river cruise in Austria, so his family was tested for virus antibodies, which are produced in response to infection.

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Nature 583, 16-17 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01891-8

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 10 July 2020: This story has been updated to include references to relevant research on type 1 diabetes as well as type 2.

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