Maturity Onset Diabetes Of The Young Or Mody

Maturity onset diabetes of the young or MODY is a family of mutations that are inherited autosomal dominant. There are already two well known types of Diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. These two types involve, Type 1, the inability to produce insulin within the pancreas or, Type 2, the body rejects the insulin that the body makes. The inability to regulate the glucose leads to hyperglycemia which has many other adverse effects on the body, such as poor circulation and kidney damage (Froguel et al. 1992). In the 1970s these two types of diabetes were known and beginning to be better understood, although there was another disease that had similar symptoms and characteristics to diabetes had begun to arise (Tattersall 1998). To better understand the cause of this disease Fajans and Tattersall compiled a group of families with similar symptoms and began to test for genetic correlations between family members (Tattersall et al. 1975). Their findings allowed the discovery of the gene being heritable and lead to the next steps to identify this gene (Tattersall et al. 1975).

The symptoms of MODY Type 2 are similar to that of a diabetic individual with frequent urination, elevated thirst, and possible weight loss. There are no physical abnormalities caused by this disease as it mostly affects the pancreas and the regulation of glucose. Excess high blood glucose over an extended period of time may lead to kidney damage that may result in an amputation (Froguel et al. 1992). Obesity may lead to an earlier onset of the disease. MODY Type 2 has a mutation in which the Glucokinase, GCK, enzyme is inactivated (Inoue et al. 2004) This mutation is linked to a single base pair mutation of GCK enzyme which is an enzyme that phosphorylates glucose w...

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...ess to the proper funding for the treatments. Many treatments will not be delivered to countries who cannot pay for them because the researchers do not get any financial benefits out of the process.

MODY Type 2 is becoming more understood after testing has been done and more cases being reported. Scientists have reported that different sets of communities have a different prevalences of the mutation because of the autosomal dominant means of inheritance. The symptoms may be subtle yet they are still potentially harmful if left alone for a long period of time. Diagnosis is not difficult, an oral glucose tolerance test would identify any forms of diabetes and a proband sequence would identify any mutations. There is still plenty to be learned about this disease and the causes of the mutation. As technology develops and research progresses, more will be understood.