

April 30, 2001
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Elgin, Illinois, USA:
Five years ago, my 49 year old husband was diagnosed with MODY, and I understand it’s very rare. Can you give me any info on it, or direct me to websites that have info on it?
Answer:
Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) was originally use to describe a form of diabetes which tended to run in families, had its onset in younger age groups, and appeared to represent a form of diabetes which is more like type�2 diabetes. Specifically, this entity is made up of several subtypes, related to a specific enzyme abnormality. It is thought that MODY makes up a small percentage of all the patients with type 2 diabetes, but I’m not sure how well this has been studied. Your husband would have to have genetic testing for the presence of this condition, as you cannot separate these patients out from typical type 2 diabetes. This kind of work is being done at only specialized sites, such as the National Institutes of Health.
JTL