Asymptomatic diabetes in childhood and adolescence. A review

An account is given of the present conception of asymptomatic (chemical) diabetes in the pediatric age group, which also has been named MODY (maturity-onset type of diabetes of young people). Long-term studies show that about 10% will eventually decompensate to overt diabetes. In contrast to classical juvenile-onset type of diabetes the inheritance of MODY seems to be autosomal dominant in many cases. Some authors have suggested that insulin resistance exists in non-obese patients with asymptomatic diabetes, but this view is not supported by observations of the author. Obese patients should reduce their body fat, but other therapeutic approaches are difficult to evaluate because of the normal fluctuation of the disease. There is no general agreement in the literature concerning the value of insulin treatment. The author supports the view that insulin treatment should be started in the late stages of chemical diabetes just before symptomatic disease emerges. In the long run this approach may ameliorate the condition due to the preservation of some beta-cell function for long periods. An unsettled question is whether early insulin treatment in asymptomatic diabetes will delay diabetic vascular complications.