May 24, 2003
Genetics and Heredity
Question from Saint Charles, Illinois, USA:
My husband and his brother both have type 1 diabetes, and my 19 month old son was diagnosed last week. Are the chances still 6% that my three year old daughter will also be diagnosed? What can I watch for? Are there any tests to see if she will get diabetes?
Answer:
Overall, the 6% figure is an acceptable one assuming that the family is of Caucasian background and that your son does indeed have type 1A (autoimmune) diabetes as confirmed by antibody testing. You could perhaps get a more accurate figure by asking the diabetes doctor about antibody testing and HLA antigen genetic typing.
DOB
Additional comments from Dr. Marco Songini:
Once found, we can do almost nothing for the person who is has ‘potential’
diabetes outside of participating in prevention trials, such as
DPT-1
or
ENDIT.
MS
