My 13 year old daughter, just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, had no symptoms but was sick suddenly, and we discovered the diabetes. This was a shock since I had her screened last year, and her urine test was negative. I have a 16 year old son who has no symptoms presently, and I am a nervous wreck. Is there any way I can screen him? What are the possibilities he will develop diabetes? My son is very active in sports and in excellent physical condition for his size and age. Their paternal grandfather has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed at age 30. I will investigate the Diabetes Prevention Trial if you think this may help us keep him healthy.

Assuming that your daughter has type 1A (autoimmune) or antibody positive diabetes, which is the most common form in Caucasian families in North America, the chance of her brother also getting this form of diabetes is only about 5%. You could make this figure more precise by arranging an HLA antigen test for susceptible genes. This is rather an expensive approach however, so you might like to call 1-800-425-8361 to see if your son would be eligible for the second part of the DPT-1. If the latter approach is not feasible, you could ask your son’s doctor about getting an antibody test. However, you should know there is no proven way to defer the onset of clinical diabetes at the present time.

DOB