March 23, 2006
Diagnosis and Symptoms, DIDMOAD
Question from Portugal:
I have a 10 year old son who has had a sensorineural hearing problem in both ears since he was born. So far, his condition has remained stable and he uses hearing aids in both ears. Last month, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and is having treatment with insulin injections. Do you think he may have DIDMOAD? We couldn’t remember anyone in the family having diabetes or any of DIDMOAD symptoms. Please give me some advice. What can I do and how can we know if he has this disease?
Answer:
It is unlikely DIDMOAD without diabetes insipidus or optic atrophy. You should discuss this directly with his diabetes team since they will know about the eye findings and also about other possibilities. They will also know about islet cell and GAD65 antibody tests since these are often, but not always, positive with classical type 1 diabetes and negative in DIDMOAD. An ophthalmologist can check for optic atrophy if there is some question. Also, please remember that most children with type 1 diabetes do NOT have other family members with type 1 diabetes. so it is not uncommon to have a negative family history.
SB
