Rare Form of Diabetes
Talk about diabetes and to the mind of most people come three types of diabetes; type I, type 2 and gestational diabetes. As you know, type I diabetes occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin, type II diabetes occurs when there is insulin resistance and gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy although the woman concerned has never had diabetes. However, there are types of diabetes that are not as common as the three types already mentioned. Since we know of their existence, it is wise to screen for them and have them treated if they strike.
MIDD
MIDD (Maternally inherited diabetes and deafness) is inherited from a mother. It is a kind of type 2 diabetes with merely one out of a hundred type 2 diabetics from it. People diagnosed with this rare type of diabetes are mostly young adults from 25 to 35 years of age and have no weight problem. They are found to be short of hearing. However, although the word deafness is in the condition’s name, MIDD people are not deaf. Many diabetic complications seem to happen earlier for MIDD compared to type 2 diabetes. Unlike type 2 diabetes, MIDD patients are not encouraged to exercise more for blood sugar control as exercise can result in greater production of lactic acid leading to fatigue in the muscles. For the treatment of MIDD, there is sulphonylureas, an oral medication for diabetes. Sometimes, it is necessary to include insulin in the treatment.
LADA or SPIDDM
LADA (Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults), also known as SPIDDM (slowly progressive diabetes) and type 1.5, is due to the slow gradual death of beta cells. As these insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed, which may take months or years, the body gets less and less insulin. So, it is a form of type I diabetes except that it happens to an adult and because of this it is usually wrongly diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
Mechanism of action of insulin – Video
Type AB
Type AB diabetes is the combination of type I diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The term type AB diabetes is still unofficial. A type I diabetic must inject insulin into his body as his own body cannot produce insulin. Sometimes a type I diabetic becomes obese as he grows older. This can lead to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. When this diabetic gets type 2 too, he has to take oral type II medications as well.
MODY
Another monogenic form of diabetes is MODY (Maturity-Onset Diabetes Of The Young). This type of diabetes is often diagnosed among teenagers and young adults. In MODY, the body’s inability is due to gene mutation with the genes inherited from one of the parents. A child from a parent with MODY has half a chance of inheriting the disease. With hardly any symptoms exhibited, MODY is not easily noticed except through a blood test which indicates the presence of high blood sugar, which could be mistaken to be either type I or type II diabetes. Genetic testing must be done to differentiate it. For MODY, only oral medication is required.
NDM (Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus)
Any infant below the age of 9 months found with symptoms of type I diabetes must do a genetic test for neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) as symptoms of NDM are similar and the patient also suffer from excessive urination and thirst, fatigue and irritability. This is the case because NDM infants have the same problem of not being able to produce sufficient insulin. Although the cause and symptoms are similar, the treatment is totally different. NDM is a rare monogenic form of diabetes which means that it is the result of the mutation of a single gene. Unlike type I diabetes, the patient does not have to endure insulin injections each and every day of his life. The treatment for NDM is an oral medication called sulfonylurea.