Type 1 diabetes, resulting from the autoimmune destruction of insulin producing islet beta cells is caused by genetic and environmental determinants. Recent studies agree that counterintuitively, the major genetic susceptibility factors are decreasing in frequency as the incidence of the condition increases. This suggests a growing role for environmental determinants but these have been difficult to identify and our understanding of gene/environment effects are limited. Individuals "at risk" can be identified accurately through the presence of multiple islet autoantibodies and current efforts in type 1 diabetes research focus on improved biomarkers and strategies to prevent or reverse the condition through immunotherapy.
Keywords: Autoimmunity; Genes; Insulin; Islet autoantibodies; Type 1 diabetes.