Patient's question:
He is four years old and has been diagnosed with diabetes. He is currently being treated in the hospital with ketone levels at ++. I can't understand why my son got diabetes. Will he have to inject insulin for the rest of his life? I feel lost and don't know what he can and cannot eat. Is there a meal plan specifically for children with diabetes?Doctor's answer:
Diabetes is primarily divided into Type 1 and Type 2, with about 95% of diabetes cases being Type 2. Although Type 1 accounts for only about 5%, the vast global population base and the "inherent" nature of Type 1 diabetes, which requires patients to inject insulin for life, bring endless frustrations, inconveniences, and burdens to their daily lives. In the absence of a recognized cure for Type 1 diabetes, autologous purified hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has made valuable explorations in treating it. Recently, the Stem Cell Transplantation Center of the Third Hospital of the People's Armed Police Corps announced that the first successful Type 1 diabetes patient who underwent the procedure has been insulin-free for over a year. Experts at the center explained that autologous purified hematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves mobilizing hematopoietic stem cells from the patient's body, processing them in vitro through a series of professional procedures to remove abnormal immune cells, and then reinfusing the purified hematopoietic stem cells as high-quality seeds back into the patient's body to reconstruct hematopoietic and immune functions. Once the immune system returns to normal, pancreatic cells can grow, pancreatic function will gradually recover, and this will ultimately achieve the goal of curing Type 1 diabetes. The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to treat Type 1 diabetes has been practiced abroad. Both scientific research and clinical practice have shown that interdisciplinary collaboration between hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and the treatment of Type 1 diabetes is another breakthrough in medical research. For Type 1 diabetes patients to undergo autologous purified hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the timing of treatment is crucial. Generally, patients with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes over the age of two are suitable candidates for transplantation. Patients with longer histories of the disease may have already suffered excessive "attack" on their pancreas, making it difficult to restore pancreatic function. Therefore, early treatment is essential, preferably within six months of the initial diagnosis. Type 1 diabetes poses a severe threat to the health of adolescents and children. Parents should pay attention to early detection, such as when children exhibit symptoms like excessive thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger with easy satiety, weight loss, or significant thinning. In such cases, it is important to seek medical attention promptly for relevant examinations and diagnosis. Particularly, parents with diabetes should pay special attention to the mutation of genetic susceptibility genes.