Rare Hormone Helps Test For Potentially Fatal Insulin Disease In Infants

Recent findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics reveal that a certain hormone found in infants stomachs can help provide a potential marker for testing of a rare form of insulin issues, that can result in death.

"We have discovered a new clinical test which can identify congenital hyperinsulinism in some patients with no known genetic cause of the disease," said lead study author Dr. Karen Cosgrove and faculty member at Manchester Children's Hospital, in a news release. "This is the first step to understanding what causes the disease in these particular patients. In the future the test may influence how these children are treated medically, perhaps even avoiding the need to have their pancreas removed."

"Our new results are timely since clinical trials of a new incretin-blocking treatment for congenital hyperinsulinism have recently started. We anticipate that our clinical test will help to identify the patients who are likely to benefit from this new treatment the most," Dr. Banerjee added.

For the study, researchers identified hormones that signal the pancreas to release insulin to metabolize blood sugar levels. They studied 13 children at the hospital with the rare aforementioned condition, and found that incretin levels were particularly high among those children.

Health officials note that high levels of incretin can cause over stimulation of the pancreas, producing excessive amounts of insulin, working to deplete the blood of glucose that may even damage the brain due to low sugar levels. Fortunately, testing early on can help to detect the problem so that adequate treatments can be provided.