Juvenile diabetes is a disorder resulting from destruction of pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar. Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes require daily insulin injections and insulin pump for the control of blood sugars and preventing long-term complications of diabetes such as eye disease, kidney disease and nerve disease. The incidence of Juvenile or type 1 diabetes is 14.9/100,000 population in the United States and has been increasing dramatically in children under the age of 5 years. Our Diabetes Center provides diabetes care and education to over 1200 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. We are part of the Max McGee Diabetes Research Center which conducts Children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections family genetic linkage studies for the evaluation of immunological and metabolic cause(s) of Juvenile diabetes.
There has been a significant increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes, known as adult diabetes, in children and adolescents parallel to the rise in incidence of obesity in the United States. The incidence of type 2 diabetes is 7.2/100,000 population. Children with type 2 are currently treated with insulin for the control of blood sugars. We are participating in a multi-center trial for the study of oral medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in children.