New type of diabetes caused by a genetic mutation.

New type of diabetes caused by a genetic mutation.Scientific research has led to the identification of a new type of diabetes caused by a mutation in the gene RFX6. Scientists from the ULB Center for Diabetes Research and the Erasmus Hospital of the ULB, together with colleagues at the University of Exeter (UK), University of Helsinki (Finland) and Kyoto University (Japan), have identified a new type of diabetes caused by a mutation in the gene RFX6. Individuals carrying the RFX6 mutation have a high probability of developing diabetes: it can start early, before the age of 20 years, and by the age of 50 years 80% has developed the disease. It is transmitted from parents to children and may affect many generations in the same family. RFX6 diabetes often requires insulin treatment because patients have reduced insulin secretion by the pancreas.