National body set up to study rare form of diabetes

National body set up to study rare form of diabetes

News:

1. As part of the World Diabetes Day 2018, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has nominated the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) and Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre as the ‘National Coordinating Centre for the ‘National Monogenic Diabetes Study Group of India’.

Important Facts:

2. Under this initiative, MDRF would provide guidelines to the collaborators for identifying monogenic diabetes and sending their details.
3. Several top institutions, diabetologists and endocrinologists, including many prestigious medical colleges all over India, have consented to be members of this study group.
4. Certain parameters will be identified for children below six months of age and those diagnosed as Type 1 diabetes but have atypical features such as milder forms of diabetes, and strong family history of diabetes going through several generations.
5. ICMR already has a young diabetics registry and National Monogenic Diabetes Study Group has been formed as its off-shoot, with MDRF as the nodal centre.
6. About Monogenic diabetes:

• Monogenic diabetes is a group of disorders where mutation of a single gene causes diabetes.
• Its three commonest forms being – Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY), Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus (NDM) and Congenital Hypoglycemia.
• MODY comprises at least 14 subtypes, of which MODY 1 and MODY 3 are the commonest forms.
• The patients with MODY can stop insulin injections and be switched over to inexpensive sulphonylurea tablets.
• Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus (NDM) which is defined as onset of diabetes below 6 months of age. They can also be switched over to oral sulphonylurea treatment.
• Children with Congenital Hypoglycemia (CH) have the opposite condition of neonatal diabetes.
• From the time of birth, these babies have severe low sugar reactions. Many of them can be treated with a medicine called as ‘Diazoxide’, while some have to undergo a partial removal of the pancreas (Pancratectomy).

7. The two most common forms of diabetes are type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes.
8. Polygenic diabetes is a group of disorders where mutation of a multiple genes cause diabetes.