How diabetes differs depending on age at diagnosis

Type 1 diabetes appears to have a different form (or endotype) when it’s diagnosed in children under 7 years old than when identified in children in their teens, a new study finds. The condition develops when the body mistakenly attacks the pancreas’ insulin-producing cells, leaving people unable to regulate their blood sugar. But researchers found that if it only appears when people are in their teens, they might have “dormant” cells that could possibly be revived. “Stratification of children and young people according to endotype will be important in the effective design of future immunotherapeutic trials in type 1 diabetes,” the researchers write.