Type 1 Diabetes Development in Children Linked to Certain Viruses

May 25, 2010, 11:05 am

According to results from a new study released by the American Society for Microbiology, a link appears to exist between certain viruses and the presence of type 1 diabetes in children.

According to Antonio Toniolo, lead researcher of the study, a group of viruses known as enteroviruses, which include the poliovirus, may be a biomarker for the early stages of diabetes.

The study examined the blood of 112 children, aged 2 to 16, following a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. The researchers searched for symptoms of an infection with enteroviruses and found genetic signs of the infection in 83 percent of the children with diabetes. In children without diabetes, only 7 percent had genetic signs of enterovirus infection.

Toniolo said results from the study could prove beneficial in the development of diabetes treatment and prevention.

Diabetes is a disease that affects 23.6 million Americans. The two chronic forms of the condition are type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which differ in the way the body handles insulin, the hormone responsible for carrying glucose (sugar) out of the blood stream and into cells to use for energy.

Patients with type 1 diabetes do not have the ability to produce insulin, while patients with type 2 diabetes either produce insulin in insufficient amounts or have cells that improperly use the hormone.

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