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Absence of leptin triggers type 1 diabetes

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Leptin deficiency, which is associated with type 1 diabetes, is a critical factor in the pathophysiology of this disease, a new study in rats shows. The lack of this hormone triggers a cascade of neuroendocrine events that affect adipose tissue and the liver, resulting in hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis (pages 759–763).

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Figure 1: T1D is an autoimmune disease that destroys pancreatic beta cells, resulting in insulin deficiency, which leads to hypergylcemia and ketoacidosis.

Debbie Maizels/Nature Publishing Group

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Correspondence to Samuel Klein.

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Mittendorfer, B., Klein, S. Absence of leptin triggers type 1 diabetes. Nat Med 20, 705–706 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3629

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