A Better Era for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

By Antoinette Moran, M.D.

Not so long ago, we assumed children with type 1 diabetes would not lead normal lives. We gave them special diets and limited their physical activities. Now, with better treatment options and education, these young people can have virtually the same lifestyle as other children.

In recent years, media attention has focused on type 2 diabetes and the rising number of adults, and now children, who are developing it. But, the number of children who get type 1 diabetes, by far the most common type in children, is on the rise as well.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes result from a problem with a body chemical called insulin. When food is digested, it breaks down into glucose, the body's primary fuel. Insulin is necessary for the body's cells to absorb this fuel. But in type 1 diabetes, cells cannot absorb glucose from the blood because little or no insulin is present. In type 1, the body's immune system destroys the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells are unable to effectively use the insulin present in the body.

In Minnesota, one school-age child in 500 has type 1 diabetes. A person who has a close relative (parent, sibling or child) with type 1 diabetes, has a one in 20 chance of developing it. It is believed that type 1 diabetes is caused by an inherited tendency that is triggered by an environmental factor, such as a virus.

Symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes

Children with untreated type 1 diabetes are abnormally thirsty, and drink and urinate more often than normal. They are also hungrier than normal and may eat more, but they still lose weight. They may experience blurred vision and be unusually tired.

Athough research is promising, today a cure is not available to the majority of type 1 diabetes patients. To stay healthy, these patients must test their blood sugar regularly and take insulin by injection. They can eat a normal healthy diet and can be as physically active as they choose provided they are watchful about testing blood sugars and balancing them with insulin as needed. Blood sugars that are too high or too low can result in serious problems, including coma or death. Long-term complications of abnormal blood sugar levels include blindness, nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure. However, good, lifelong blood sugar control reduces the risk of these problems.

Fortunately, today it's easier to test and control blood sugar. Recent technologies include:

• Almost painless insulin pens for taking insulin
  
  
• Better synthetic insulins more like the body's own
  
  
• More sophisticated glucose monitors that require little or no blood
  
  
• Easier-to-use insulin pumps

The University of Minnesota is a coordinating center for TrialNet, an international research project conducting a range of studies to cure or prevent type 1 diabetes. One study tests relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to see if they are likely to get the disease and to see if treatment can make the immune system less likely to destroy the insulin producing beta cells, another study treats pregnant women and babies with fish oil to try to prevent diabetes in the baby, and another tries to protect remaining beta cells in people who have just developed type 1 diabetes.

To learn more about these studies, contact the study coordinator at (612) 625-8944.

Note: Dr. Antoinette Moran is an expert in type 1 diabetes in children and a professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics.

Health Talk & You is an educational service of the University of Minnesota. Advice presented should not take the place of an examination by a health-care professional. For more health-related information, go to http://www.healthtalk.umn.edu/. For comments or questions about Health Talk & You, please e-mail lafor016@umn.edu.