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Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
. 2004 Jul;89(4):F341–F343. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.030502

An assessment of pancreatic endocrine function and insulin sensitivity in patients with transient neonatal diabetes in remission

J Shield, I Temple, M Sabin, D Mackay, D Robinson, P Betts, D Carson, H Cave, D Chevenne, M Polak
PMCID: PMC1721722  PMID: 15210671

Abstract

Aims: To examine derived indices of ß cell function, peripheral insulin sensitivity, and the pancreatic response to intravenous glucose loading in children with a previous history of transient neonatal diabetes currently in remission, repeated after a period of two or more years.

Methods: The standard intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was used to measure the first phase insulin response (FPIR) cumulatively at one and three minutes. In addition, fasting insulin and glucose values were used to estimate insulinogenic indices (ß cell function) and QUICKI (insulin sensitivity).

Patients: Six patients with known previous transient neonatal diabetes currently in remission with no exogenous insulin requirement were tested. Control data from 15 children of a similar age were available for derived fasting indices of ß cell functional capacity and insulin sensitivity.

Results: One child had a subnormal insulin secretory response to intravenous glucose that remained abnormal two and four years later. The other children had relatively normal or entirely normal responses over two years. Measures of ß cell function and insulin sensitivity in the fasting state showed comparable results to those obtained from normal controls.

Conclusions: Most children with transient neonatal diabetes in remission have no evidence of ß cell dysfunction or insulin resistance in the fasting state, although they might have been expected to show subtle defects given the tendency to relapse in adolescence. Measures of insulin response to intravenous glucose loading are often normal but suggest future recurrence if profoundly abnormal.

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Figure 1.

Figure 1

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 First phase insulin response (normal > 30 mIU/l) to intravenous glucose in the six cases of transient diabetes mellitus in remission over an interval of two years. The horizontal line represents the 5th centile from historical controls without diabetes.13 The dashed line shows the response of the child who developed impaired glucose tolerance on the oral glucose tolerance test. IGTT, Intravenous glucose tolerance test.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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