Flu virus linked to spike in type-one diabetes
Sarah Westen
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Sci/Tech
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ABC Science Online reports a bad flu season in Australia has triggered a rise in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Dr. Neville Howard of the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney reports his hospital has diagnosed more than double the average number of type 1 diabetes cases this month. "Every year in the winter there's more children getting diabetes than at any other time of the year [because of compromised immune systems]," said Howard, "However, this year there's a mini epidemic occurring."
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It is a permanent condition, most often diagnosed in childhood, which requires daily administration of insulin therapy. Researchers know that only people with a specific genetic profile are susceptible to this autoimmune disease, but there has been debate over the identity of the agent initially responsible for the immune attack.
If left untreated, type 1 diabetes causes uncontrolled blood glucose levels, leading to increased thirst and urination, weight loss, lethargy, and blurred vision. Inadequate insulin levels can also result in the accumulation of organic acids and ketones in the blood, a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This lack of insulin leaves the muscle, fat, and liver cells unable to use glucose in the blood as fuel. Other hormones such as glucagon, growth hormone, and adrenaline cause fat to break down within the cells of these tissues into glucose and fatty acids which are converted to ketones. The body consumes its own muscle, fat, and liver cells for fuel. Up to ten percent of total body fluids are commonly lost during diabetic ketoacidosis; and, if severe, the condition can lead to a coma.
Howard said his hospital normally sees six or seven children a month at this time of year, with only the occasional case of life-threatening ketoacidosis, reported Anna Salleh of ABC Science Online. This month, the hospital diagnosed seventeen cases and six of these cases required intensive care for diabetic ketoacidosis.
Dr. Neville Howard of the Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney reports his hospital has diagnosed more than double the average number of type 1 diabetes cases this month. "Every year in the winter there's more children getting diabetes than at any other time of the year [because of compromised immune systems]," said Howard, "However, this year there's a mini epidemic occurring."
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It is a permanent condition, most often diagnosed in childhood, which requires daily administration of insulin therapy. Researchers know that only people with a specific genetic profile are susceptible to this autoimmune disease, but there has been debate over the identity of the agent initially responsible for the immune attack.
If left untreated, type 1 diabetes causes uncontrolled blood glucose levels, leading to increased thirst and urination, weight loss, lethargy, and blurred vision. Inadequate insulin levels can also result in the accumulation of organic acids and ketones in the blood, a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This lack of insulin leaves the muscle, fat, and liver cells unable to use glucose in the blood as fuel. Other hormones such as glucagon, growth hormone, and adrenaline cause fat to break down within the cells of these tissues into glucose and fatty acids which are converted to ketones. The body consumes its own muscle, fat, and liver cells for fuel. Up to ten percent of total body fluids are commonly lost during diabetic ketoacidosis; and, if severe, the condition can lead to a coma.
Howard said his hospital normally sees six or seven children a month at this time of year, with only the occasional case of life-threatening ketoacidosis, reported Anna Salleh of ABC Science Online. This month, the hospital diagnosed seventeen cases and six of these cases required intensive care for diabetic ketoacidosis.
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