A Subtype of Diabetes Mellitus Associated with a Mutation of Mitochondrial DNA

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic disorders, affecting as many as 5 to 10 percent of persons in both Japan and Western countries 1 . Both types of diabetes mellitus -- insulin-dependent (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) -- are heterogeneous disorders, and several mechanisms have been implicated in their causes. These include autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β cells in IDDM and mutations in the insulin gene, the insulin-receptor gene, 2 , 3 a gene linked to the adenosine deaminase gene on chromosome 20, 4 and the glucokinase gene 5 , 6 in NIDDM. Although defects in both glucose-induced insulin secretion and peripheral insulin sensitivity . . .