Type 1 Diabetes, Immunology, Genetics & Endogenous Insulin Production

Type I diabetes(T1D)T occurs when an individual loses the ability to make enough insulin to control their blood sugar levels. They need insulin injections to replace the insulin production that has been lost. Traditionally people with T1D are thought to make none of their own insulin after diagnosis, but we have recently identified that there are some people who have T1D but go one making insulin for many years. We would like to explore this in more depth and understand why some people with T1D go on making insulin and some do not. This will help us understand the causes of T1D and may help work out ways to protect this remaining insulin production, with improved blood sugar control, and reduced long-term complications of diabetes We aim to explore genetic and immunological factors which impact on the ability of an individual diagnosed with Type I diabetes (T1D) to produce their own insulin. We aim to study individuals who have been diagnosed with T1D with variable duration and assess the genetic and immunological profile of those whose are thought to be producing significant amounts of insulin despite a long duration and those who despite a very short duration, lose insulin production very quickly.