Clinicians are being urged to screen relatives and reconsider autoimmune diabetes in atypical adult and pregnancy cases as earlier diagnosis opens the door to treatment before symptoms develop.
Early-stage type 1 diabetes moved into the spotlight at CVRM Professional Care as clinicians heard how earlier identification is changing the way the condition is managed. According to Diabetes Times, Parth Narendran, a professor of diabetes medicine at the University of Birmingham and an adult diabetologist at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, set out how his team detects and follows people with the disease before full onset, amid growing interest in screening and treatment options. The conference, which is being held on October 20 and 21, is designed to highlight developments in cardiovascular, renal and metabolic care.
Narendran said one of the key opportunities is screening relatives of people with established type 1 diabetes, because family history can reveal those at higher risk. He also urged doctors to consider autoimmune diabetes in adults who do not fit the typical pattern of type 2 diabetes, and to think again when diabetes appears during pregnancy, which is often assumed to be gestational or early type 2 disease. The American Diabetes Association and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention both say that antibody-based screening and stage-based detection can identify people before symptoms appear, allowing earlier education and intervention.
The discussion came as teplizumab, also known as Tzield, has become the first immunotherapy licensed in the UK to delay progression of early-stage type 1 diabetes. Diabetes UK says the treatment is approved for people aged eight and over, while the charity said in August 2025 that the drug can postpone the development of symptomatic disease by about three years. UCSF Health and the Mayo Clinic both describe early type 1 diabetes as a progressive process in which treatment at the earlier stages can help preserve insulin-producing beta cells and delay the need for insulin therapy, underlining why Narendran’s message on timely recognition matters beyond the conference room.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
