Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults often Misdiagnosed as Diabetes Type 2

Twenty seven million adults in the United States are diagnosed as Diabetes Type 2.  About half of the adults  diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, who are not obese actually have Latent Autoimmune Diabetes according to a study presented by Dr. Shrivastav at the 21st annual meeting of the Society of Clinical Endocrinologists reported in an  article in Medscape Medical News  by  Kate Johnson.  The prevalence was higher among non-obese adults, with a shorter duration of the disease, younger age, a negative family history,  sugars that are harder to control, and those with a more rapid onset of diabetic complications.  Although auto-antibody testing for all diabetic patients is unrealistic, “a reasonable and cost-effective approach is to identify patients who have low insulin levels, and then do autoimmune testing on those individuals, regardless of age,” he said.  He recommending testing with Antiglutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and islet cell autoantigen 512 (ICA512) antibody for people with low insulin levels.  It is important to identify these patients because they need insulin therapy and in the future they may respond to the disease modifying techniques for Diabetes Type I that are currently being developed.

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2 Responses to Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults often Misdiagnosed as Diabetes Type 2

  1. Dr. Sybil Kramer says:

    Thank you for visiting our website. I agree this condition is often missed and some people may not be advised to take insulin. There are specific tests for this condition, but it can often be recognized clinically. If a patient with Diabetes type 2 suddenly develops high sugars or ketosis, he or she will probably need insulin regardless of the test. People who develop ketoacidosis are often divided into 4 groups depending upon whether they have insulin antibodies present and whether they have C peptide present. This test can often predict who may come off insulin. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, or concerns.

  2. Meg says:

    Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults is an urgent condition that can strike anyone between ages 22 and 79. This condition CAN take place in people that are overweight and in some individuals who DO have a family history of ANY Diabetes (without regard to the type). Overweight people who have LADA are oftentimes denied necessary insulin treatment and almost ALWAYS treated like Type 2 Diabetic individuals. Actual Type 2 Diabetics only rarely inject insulin; LADA individuals need insulin within three to sixteen years past diagnosis of Diabetes, according to numerous studies. Unfortunately, however, LADA is NOT well known among certain hospitals in the United States, and is oftentimes confused with Adult Type 1 Diabetes. LADA is really Type 1.5 (one and a half) Diabetes, and needs to be treated as such, therefore.

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