"Islet autoimmunity" refers to a condition where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the cells in the islets of Langerhans, which are tiny clusters of cells in the pancreas. These cells are responsible for producing insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. When
islet autoimmunity occurs, it can lead to the development of type 1 diabetes, where the body is unable to produce enough insulin.
Full definition
Getting enough vitamin D during infancy and childhood is associated with a reduced risk
of islet autoimmunity among children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes, according to a study published this week in the journal Diabetes.
The authors found that in children with a genetic variant in the vitamin D receptor gene, vitamin D levels in infancy and childhood were lower in those that went on to
develop islet autoimmunity compared with those that did not develop autoimmunity.
In a pilot study that included children at high risk for type 1 diabetes, daily high - dose oral insulin, compared with placebo, resulted in an immune response to insulin without hypoglycemia, findings that support the need for a phase 3 trial to determine whether oral insulin can
prevent islet autoimmunity and diabetes in high - risk children, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on child health.
«The Pre-POINT pilot study demonstrated that daily oral administration of 67.5 mg of insulin to genetically at - risk healthy children without signs of
islet autoimmunity resulted in an immune response without hypoglycemia.
Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum München have discovered a mechanism that amplifies the autoimmune reaction in an early stage of
pancreatic islet autoimmunity prior to the progression to clinical type 1 diabetes.
The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study investigates genetic and genetic - environmental interactions, including gestational infection or other gestational events, childhood infections or other environmental factors after birth, in relation to the development of
prediabetic islet autoimmunity and T1D.
Norris JM, Barriga K, Klingensmith G, Hoffman M, Eisenbarth GS, Erlich HA, Rewers M. Timing of initial cereal exposure in infancy and risk of
islet autoimmunity.
«For several years there has been controversy among scientists about whether vitamin D lowers the risk of developing of
islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes,» said Dr. Norris.
The study's lead author, Jill Norris, MPH, PhD, of the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz, and her co-authors examined the association between vitamin D levels in the blood and
islet autoimmunity.
But associations between vitamin D levels and
islet autoimmunity have been inconsistent.
Islet autoimmunity, detected by antibodies that appear when the immune system attacks the islet cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, is a precursor to type 1 diabetes.
The TEDDY children were followed with blood samples drawn every three to six months from infancy, to determine the presence of
islet autoimmunity, as well as levels of vitamin D.
«Our study links anti-tumor immunity to
islet autoimmunity, and may explain why some cancer patients develop type 1 diabetes after successful immunotherapy,» he said.