- A new discovery suggests a different form of type 1 diabetes in individuals of African descent, challenging existing medical understanding.
- A study of 894 volunteers in Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa found 65 percent of youth-onset diabetes cases lacked typical autoantibodies and genetic predispositions.
- This indicates that many young people in these regions have a non-autoimmune form of type 1 diabetes, unlike the commonly understood autoimmune type.
- Similar findings were observed in 15 percent of Black Americans diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, contrasting with White Americans who typically show autoimmune patterns.
- Researchers are calling for urgent investigation into the biological and environmental factors driving this form of diabetes to adapt diagnostic and treatment approaches for African settings.
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