title: Preventing type 1 diabetes mellitus: hype and hope.
abstract: Autoimmune diseases affect 10% or more of the UK population. In organ-specific autoimmune diseases a particular tissue is targeted by the aggressive immune response. Type 1 diabetes is due to destruction of insulin-secreting islet cells. Both genetic and environmental factors cause type 1 diabetes and environmental events can operate very early, even in utero. The early induction of diabetes-associated autoantibodies and the long prediabetic period means that autoimmune diabetes in children can be predicted by detecting these autoantibodies. The purpose of prediction is prevention and initial studies suggest that it is possible to modify the disease process. However, the impact of such therapy on the disease is as yet extremely modest.
authors.affiliation: St Bartholomew's Hospital and Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, University of London. M.C.Sheppard@bham.ac.uk
authors.forename: R David G
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Leslie
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies