Pancreatic Volume Is Reduced in Adult Patients with Recently Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2012-11, Vol.97 (11), p.E2109-E2113
• Main Authors: Williams, Alistair J. K, Thrower, Sally L, Sequeiros, Iara M, Ward, Alexandra, Bickerton, Alex S, Triay, Jessica M, Callaway, Mark P, Dayan, Colin M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Atrophy; Blood Glucose; C-Peptide - blood; Cohort Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - pathology; Disease Progression; Humans; Insulin - blood; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Organ Size; Pancreas - pathology
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-1815

Context: Pancreatic atrophy is common in longstanding type 1 diabetes, but there are limited data concerning pancreas size at diagnosis. Objective: Our objective was to determine whether pancreatic size was reduced in patients with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes and assess whether pancreatic volume was related to residual β-cell function or islet autoantibodies. Design and Setting: We conducted a controlled cohort study with strict inclusion criteria, recruiting from hospital diabetes clinics between 2007 and 2010. Patients and Healthy Controls: Participants included 20 male adult patients (median age 27 yr) with recent-onset type 1 diabetes (median duration 3.8 months) and 24 male healthy controls (median age 27 yr). Intervention: Interventions included noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging, collection of fasting blood samples, and glucagon stimulation testing in patients. Main Outcome Measures: We compared pancreatic volume estimates between patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes and healthy controls as planned a priori. Results: Scans were analyzed by an experienced radiologist blinded to diabetes status. Pancreatic volume correlated with body weight in patients and controls (P = 0.007). After adjustment for body weight, mean pancreatic volume index was 26% less in patients (1.19 ml/kg, se 0.07 ml/kg) than in controls (1.61 ml/kg, se 0.08 ml/kg) (P = 0.001). No correlation was seen between pancreatic volume index in patients and diabetes duration, glucose or C-peptide levels, glycated hemoglobin, and islet autoantibodies. Conclusions: Pancreatic volume is reduced by 26% in patients with type 1 diabetes within months of diagnosis, suggesting that atrophy begins years before the onset of clinical disease. Pancreatic atrophy within individuals is therefore a potential clinical marker of disease progression.