Sulfonylurea Treatment in Young Children With Neonatal Diabetes
Dealing with hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and sick days
- Ethel Codner, MD1,
- Sarah E. Flanagan, BSC2,
- Francisca Ugarte, MD3,
- Hernán García, MD4,
- Teresa Vidal, MD5,
- Sian Ellard, PHD, MRCPATH2 and
- Andrew T. Hattersley, DM, FRCP2
- 1Institute of Maternal and Child Research, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- 2Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, U.K.
- 3Hospital Exequiel González Cortés, Santiago, Chile
- 4Clínica Santa María, Santiago, Chile
- 5Hospital Dr. Hernán Henríquez, Temuco, Chile
- Address correspondence to Prof. Andrew T. Hattersley, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Peninsula Medical School, Barrack Road, Exeter EX2 5DW, U.K. E-mail: a.t.hattersley{at}ex.ac.uk
Recently, heterozygous activating mutations in the genes forming the ATP-sensitive K+ channel (KATP channel), KCNJ11 and ABCC8, have been shown to cause neonatal diabetes (1–4). Sulfonylurea treatment restores insulin secretion in these patients (3,5,6), but information on the practical management of children with mutated KATP channels taking this medication is limited.
We report clinical aspects of the successful transfer to oral treatment in three cases of young children with KCNJ11 and ABCC8 mutations (Table 1). All parents gave written consent.
In case 1, a girl was transferred from insulin to glibenclamide at 17 months (7) and had been on this treatment for 2 years. During this period, blood glucose testing decreased …
