Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus

Neonatal Diabetes (ND) mellitus is a rare genetic disease (1 in 90,000 live births). It is defined by the presence of severe hyperglycaemia associated with insufficient or no circulating insulin, occurring mainly before 6 months of age and rarely between 6 months and 1 year. Such hyperglycaemia requires either transient treatment with insulin in about half of cases, or permanent insulin treatment. The disease is explained by two major groups of mechanism: malformation of the pancreas with altered insulin-secreting cells development/survival or abnormal function of the existing pancreatic β cell. The most frequent genetic causes of neonatal diabetes mellitus with abnormal β cell function are abnormalities of the 6q24 locus and mutations of the ABCC8 or KCNJ11 genes coding for the potassium channel in the pancreatic β cell. Other genes are associated with pancreas malformation or insufficient β cells development or destruction of β cells. Clinically, compared to patients with an ABCC8 or KCNJ11 mutation, patients with a 6q24 abnormality have lower birth weight and height, are younger at diagnosis and remission, and have a higher malformation frequency. Patients with an ABCC8 or KCNJ11 mutation have neurological and neuropsychological disorders in all those tested carefully. Up to 86% of patients who go into remission have recurrent diabetes when they reach puberty, with no difference due to the genetic origin. All these results reinforce the importance of prolonged follow-up by a multidisciplinary pediatric team, and later doctors specializing in adult medicine. 90% of the patients with an ABCC8 or KCNJ11 mutation as well as those with 6q24 anomalies are amenable to a successful switch from insulin injection to oral sulfonylureas.