Proteins may predict onset of diabetes in children: Study

MUNICH, Germany, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The presence of specific proteins in the blood may help predict the development of type 1 diabetes in children, researchers in Germany suggest.

A team of scientists led by the German Center for Diabetes Research conducted a pair of studies involving children with a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes. The test subjects demonstrated the development of biomakers that researchers say indicate when and how quickly clinical symptoms will appear.

"Altogether, we were able to identify 41 peptides from 26 proteins that distinguish children with autoantibodies from those without," researcher Christine von Toerne said in a press release. "Two peptides - from the proteins apolipoprotein M and apolipoprotein C-IV - were particularly conspicuous and were especially differently expressed in the two groups."

In the first phase of the study, the team analyzed blood samples from 30 children who developed type 1 diabetes very quickly or after a long delay. All of the test subjects from that group had autoantibodies. Their data was compared to children who did not display autoantibodies or diabetes symptoms.

In the second phase of the study, the team confirmed protein composition differences using samples from 140 children. The findings were published in the journal Diabetologia. The authors say their findings may help improve treatment strategies for the disease.

"The progression of type 1 diabetes into a clinical disease takes place over a period of time that varies from individual to individual and that at this time is insufficiently predictable," Institute of Diabetes Research director Anette-G. Ziegler said. "The biomarkers that we have identified allow a more precise classification of this presymptomatic stage and they are relatively simple to acquire from blood samples."