Many kids with diabetes have other immune diseases

(Source: Reuters News, 22 April 2011)
A third of children with type 1 diabetes have signs of other immune system disorders when they get diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study. The findings, researchers say, underscore the importance of keeping an eye out for symptoms of those diseases in diabetic children. Type 1 diabetes is what's known as an autoimmune disease, where the immune system launches a misguided attack on the body's own tissue. In the case of diabetes, the assault kills off cells in the pancreas that make the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Read more