LONDON, September 28 /PRNewswire/ --     A recent Lancet article predicted a doubling of new cases of type 1
diabetes in European children aged under 5, and a 70% rise in cases in
children under 15 years - an incidence rate exceeding all previous
predictions.(1) Studies in the USA and other countries also suggest similar
trends.(2)

In the latest issue of Diabetic Hypoglycemia (http://www.hypodiab.com),
Dr Tim Jones and Dr Trang Ly of the University of Western Australia maintain
that, despite modern therapy, hypoglycemia remains a critical concern in
these young patients. Their parents and clinicians may become anxious, as
many children are too young to manage their own blood glucose levels, leading
to an increased risk of hypoglycemia. Jones and Ly make the case that
'children are not small adults'. Consequently, the approach to achieving
glycemic control in these young patients should be different to that in
adults. The authors discuss the physiologic and behavioral mechanisms
underlying these differences and cover other aspects of childhood
hypoglycemia, together with guidelines for treatment.

To complement the feature article, Professor Christopher Ryan of the
Editorial Board discusses the practical and ethical issues limiting 
experimental studies of hypoglycemia in very young children with diabetes. 
He makes the case for empirical observation, and comments "While well 
designed observational studies will never address all our questions, they can 
improve our understanding of how younger children recognize hypoglycemia, and 
how their responses to it affect their mental state and behavior."

About Diabetic Hypoglycemia

Diabetic Hypoglycemia is an influential online diabetes journal led by
Editor-in-Chief Professor Brian Frier (Edinburgh, UK), with Associate
Editors: Professor Simon Heller (Sheffield, UK), Professor Christopher Ryan
(Pittsburgh, USA) and Dr Rory McCrimmon (Yale, USA). Published three times
annually, Diabetic Hypoglycemia provides an interactive forum for the sharing
of practical knowledge and opinions in the field of hypoglycemia.

To explore Diabetic Hypoglycemia, please take the guided tour:
http://www.hypodiab.com/Teaser/hypodiab.html.

Diabetic Hypoglycemia is published by ESP Bioscience, supported by an
unrestricted educational grant from Novo Nordisk A/S (Bagsvaerd, Denmark).

References

(1) Patterson C et al. Incidence trends for childhood type 1
diabetes in Europe during 1989-2003 and predicted new cases 2005-20: a
multicentre prospective registration study. The Lancet 2009;373(9680
):2027-33.

(2) Dabelea D et al. Incidence of diabetes in youth in the United
States. JAMA 2007;297:2716-24.

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