It doesn’t define how or why this occurs, but interesting, nonetheless…
The study reveals many young people in Africa, and some in the U.S., may have a non-autoimmune form of type 1 diabetes, opening the door to more accurate diagnosis and treatment
When the researchers compared this data to studies in the U.S., they found a smaller but significant proportion (15%) of Black participants diagnosed with T1D had a similar form of diabetes found in Sub-Saharan Africa - characterized by negative autoantibodies and a low T1D genetic risk score.
I wonder if this is different or the same as the new Type 5 diabetes. Type 5 is caused by malnutrition. Basically, the pancreas doesn’t get what it needs to fully develop.
The International Diabetes Federation added Type 5 earlier this year and it’s anticipated the American Diabetes Association will do so as well in their 2026 Standards of Care.
I believe there are many different causes of “diabetes.” Sad that all diabetes types are all lumped together because of a common symptom… high glucose levels. All this causes is confusion at both patient and medical levels. And no one seems to be interested in defining the causes. Without causes, no cures will ever be found. Really, really sad.
There is much research being done to understand causes and to differentiate between the varieties. The ignorance occurs among regular people, and since Type 1 is much less common, it often gets lumped in with Type 2.
The most common statement I hear is along the lines of ‘you can’t eat sugar’, to which I normally respond with items below, although this does little to correct the breadth of their ignorance about diabetes:
I can eat anything as long as I inject for it, but typically avoid simple sugars
All carbohydrates are sugar, just some are more complex
Describe the differences between Type 1 and Type 2
Medical personnel and researchers know quite well about the differences, and there is work done to differentiate between the various causes, genetic versus environmental versus illness, early onset versus late onset, etc.
So, if they are all so knowledgeable, why have they not found a cure yet? And why don’t they acknowledge that when the beta cells are attacked, insulin is not the only hormone that is missing in a T1. Of course, insulin is the most striking in its effect when supplemented. But the lack of other hormones, including c-peptide, affect the afflicted body in all kinds of important but subtle ways. One hundred years have passed since the discovery of insulin and now the greed has set in with the constant development and upgrading of gadgets to supply it. I am really tired of waiting another 5 years, another 5 years for a cure that never comes.
A cure for Type 1 needs 2 things; 1. A way to selectively reprogram the immune system. 2. A way to create new Beta cells from the patient’s stem cells.
T2 is even worse as every cell’s DNA in our bodies is programmed to resist insulin.
