Heredity versus environmental in diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT

Diabetis mellitus is a heterogeneous disease. IDDM and NIDDM are two different syndromes. In both, genetic susceptibility is present, but more clearly hereditary patterns are found in NIDDM. IDDM appears to be triggered by different environmental factors in susceptible indivuduals, inducing different cellular and immune processes that produce beta cell destruction. In IDDM susceptibility is inherited, but it manifestations depend strongly on multiple ill defined invironmental factors. Other clearly genetic forms of diabetes associated with multiple speific sindromes with a specific hereditary transmission are known, but are infrequent. In NIDDM, familial factors seem to be more relevant, several genetic markers have been identified in different populations, but they apper to be specific to certain groups and not universal. the identification of new genetic markers, and the use of immunosuppressive drugs on individual at risk of IDDM, on the near future, will help elucidate such mechanisms, and possibli prevent the progression to the overt disease