From New Jersey, USA: My daughter who is 12 years old was
diagnosed a year ago with Type 1 diabetes. I just recently heard
a story where a person was donating one of their kidneys to a
best friend who had Type 1 diabetes for approximately 22 years.
In their story a reference was made that it is a medical fact
that Type 1 diabetic's begin to expierence kidney failure around
20 years after their initial diagnosis. I would like to know if
there is any truth in this. It was actually true in the past;
this information was based upon old statistics from followup of
type 1 patients treated with non-intensified insulin regimens.
Many longitudinal trials (Steno, Oslo, DCCT) have nowadays shown
that good metabolic control, as judged by glycohemoglobin
values, is certainly able to dramatically reduce the risk of
future complications (as it appears from current statistics) and
we really hope that earlier detection and improved dietetic and
medical treatment of other risk factors (such as hypertension
and elevated blood l