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Rare Types of Diabetes

Most people are familiar with the three common types of diabetes: type 1, where the body no longer produces insulin; and type 2, as well as gestational, diabetes, where the body becomes resistant to processing insulin. While these types of diabetes are fairly well known, there are some rare forms of diabetes. It is important to screen for rare types of diabetes in order to figure out the proper course of treatment.

  1. NDM

    • Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is a monogenic form of diabetes that occurs in the first six months of life. It is a very rare condition and any infant under 9 months of age diagnosed with type 1 diabetes should be screened for NDM. Since infants with NDM do not produce enough insulin, it is easy to misdiagnose for the more common type 1 diabetes. Symptoms of NDM mimic symptoms of type 1, including excessive thirst and urination, irritability and fatigue. Since NDM can be treated with the oral medication sulfonylurea, it is important to screen for it so the patient does not have to take multiple daily insulin injections for the rest of her life.

    MODY

    • Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) usually occurs during adolescence or early adulthood when a gene mutation limits the body's ability to produce insulin. The genetic mutation classifies this type of diabetes as monogenic. MODY is the most genetically predisposed type of diabetes since a parent with MODY has a 50 percent chance of passing the disease onto a child. MODY often occurs with mild or no symptoms of diabetes and is often diagnosed through a blood test. MODY can often be treated with oral diabetes medication instead of insulin.

    Type AB

    • Type AB diabetes is the unofficial term for a type 1 diabetic who also becomes insulin resistant. Since type 1 diabetics do not create insulin, they must take insulin to survive. However, as the diabetic ages or gains weight, he may also become insulin resistant and need to take type 2 diabetes medications.

    LADA

    • Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), also called slowly progressive diabetes (SPIDDM) and type 1.5, is a form of type 1 diabetes where the pancreas no longer produces insulin. LADA is actually a slow onset of type 1, with the death of the insulin-producing beta cells taking months or years to be destroyed. LADA is often misdiagnosed as type 2 due to the person being an adult.

    MIDD

    • Maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD) is a rare form of type 2 diabetes that affects only 1 percent of the type 2 population and is passed down from mother to child. Most people diagnosed with MIDD are between the ages of 25 and 35 and are not obese. They also tend to have a hearing impairment, but are not deaf. Many of the complications of diabetes occur sooner in people with MIDD then typical type 2 patients. Also, increasing exercise is not recommended as a method for better blood sugar control since it can cause an increase in lactic acid production, which causes muscle fatigue and weakness. Treatment consists of taking the oral diabetes medication sulphonylureas and possibly insulin.

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