Question from Thessaloniki, Greece:

We have recently been informed of the spectacular change in the treatment of the six-year-old Lilly Jaffe suffering from neonatal type 1 diabetes (Breakthrough discovery for Type 1 Diabetes, February 11, 2007). Lilly’s diabetes was not due to an attack of her immune system, but due to a genetic mutation. On this basis, we would appreciate your advice concerning our son who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six months ago, in August 2006, at the age of three years.

Is there any chance that our son’s diabetes is caused by a similar genetic mutation and that his diabetes does not have an autoimmune origin? At the time of his diagnosis, during his hospitalization, we did tests for C-Peptide (which was found to be 0.5 mg/ml) and for anti-islet antibodies (IAA), which was negative. Our doctor said that this does not mean that our son’s immune system did not attack his beta cells, but it is just not evident by these tests.

We are determined to do whatever test available in order to check whether his pancreatic beta cells have been indeed destroyed by his immune system or they are for some reason inactive (but still alive!). For this reason, we would like information concerning all the possible tests we can do in order to find out the exact status of our son’s diabetes.