diabetes

Overview

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by impaired glucose regulation, leading to persistent hyperglycemia and, in many cases, episodes of hypoglycemia. It arises from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both, and includes major clinical subtypes such as type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β-cells results in insulin deficiency, whereas type 2 diabetes is typically associated with insulin resistance and progressive β-cell dysfunction.

The disease is medically important because of its broad systemic consequences. Long-term hyperglycemia contributes to microvascular complications such as diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic foot ulceration, and neuropathy, as well as macrovascular disease including coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. Diabetes also affects pregnancy outcomes, bone healing, liver function, kidney function, and quality of life, making it a major target for prevention, monitoring, and therapeutic innovation.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent studies have continued to frame diabetes as both a primary disease target and a major modifier of outcomes across many organ systems. Several publications focused on type 1 diabetes as an autoimmune disorder with age-dependent heterogeneity in islet autoantibody profiles, altered B-cell and T-cell biology, and progressive loss of insulin-producing β-cells. One study on new-onset type 1 diabetes examined Siglec-15 dysregulation and its therapeutic implications, while another used transgenic Nfkbid overexpression in NOD mice to show robust protection from type 1 diabetes through enhanced negative selection of autoreactive T cells and expansion of regulatory T cells. A separate imaging study emphasized that noninvasive measurement of pancreatic β-cell mass remains an unmet need in type 1 diabetes, and that quantitative β-cell mass imaging may help redefine disease staging and glycemic control.

A major theme across the recent literature is the burden of diabetic complications. Diabetic nephropathy was described as a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus, with one study investigating ADAMTS13 and Nrf2/GPX4/eNOS signaling as a potential protective pathway. Diabetic retinopathy was highlighted as a progressive microvascular complication and a leading cause of vision impairment, motivating work on ophthalmic drug delivery, including biodegradable intravitreal implants. Diabetic foot ulceration was also addressed, including a case series on negative pressure wound therapy in severe ulcers and another study showing that hydrogen-enriched hyaluronic acid dressing may ameliorate diabetic foot ulcer via promotion of mitophagy. Hepatic injury in diabetes was examined in a rat study in which melatonin and quercetin co-treatment attenuated liver damage by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.

Cardiovascular and renal risk remained prominent in the recent research landscape. Diabetes was reported to significantly increase the risk of atherosclerotic complications, including coronary artery disease, and genetic susceptibility to diabetes subtypes was studied in relation to coronary artery disease risk. Other work examined incidence patterns of ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in type 1 diabetes, shrunken pore syndrome and cardiovascular outcomes in type 1 diabetes with and without albuminuria, and cardio-kidney-metabolic therapy use among adults with type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. In parallel, a study of sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors evaluated their role in modulating QTc interval and ventricular arrhythmia in patients with diabetes mellitus combined with hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Metabolic control, monitoring, and technology-enabled care were also central. continuous glucose monitor use, continuous glucose monitors, hybrid closed-loop systems, CamAPS, CGM-integrated digital health apps, and remote patient monitoring were all represented in studies aimed at improving glycemic outcomes or characterizing glucose profiles. In pediatric type 1 diabetes, quarterly clinic visits were recommended, quality improvement efforts were used to reduce loss to follow-up, and psychoeducational programs in schools were evaluated to support safe diabetes management. In pregnancy, advanced hybrid closed-loop systems were studied in women with type 1 diabetes, reflecting the growing role of automated insulin delivery in specialized populations. Cost-effectiveness analyses also examined continuous glucose monitoring with remote patient monitoring in newly diagnosed pediatric type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes was additionally studied as a modifier of outcomes in other diseases and physiological contexts. Poorly controlled diabetes was reported to compromise implant osseointegration, with mitochondrial dysfunction in mesenchymal stem cell implicated in the pathology. Diabetes was also associated with liver complications, altered oocyte quality, worsened outcomes in acute ischemic stroke, and increased severity of oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer. Global epidemiologic work assessed trends and inequalities in diabetes prevalence and treatment coverage among adults aged 45 years and older, underscoring the continuing public health burden of the disease.

Key Publications

• May Quantitative β-Cell Mass Imaging Redefines Disease Staging and Glycemic Control in Type 1 Diabetes. (Diabetes, 2026, PMID 41814494): "Noninvasive measurement of pancreatic β-cell mass remains an important unmet need in type 1 diabetes because conventional surrogate markers, such as C-peptide, often lack sensitivity in advanced disease."
• May Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Therapy Use Among Adults With Type 1 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease. (Diabetes, obesity & metabolism, 2026, PMID 41816887): "Kidney and cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent among patients with Type 1 diabetes."
• May Shrunken Pore Syndrome and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality in Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes With and Without Albuminuria. (Diabetes care, 2026, PMID 41842751): "To investigate the association between "shrunken pore syndrome" (SPS), defined as a large discrepancy between estimated glomerular filtration rates based on cystatin C (eGFRcys) and creatinine (eGFRcr), and coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, peripheral artery disease (PAD), heart failure (HF), and all-cause mortality in individuals with T1D with and without albuminuria."
• May Improving glycaemic outcomes with subsidised access to diabetes technology in a young adult population with type 1 diabetes. (Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association, 2026, PMID 41841791): "...access can be limited for young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D)."
• May Hypercholesterolemia and Lipid-Lowering Therapy in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Do We Implement Current Guidelines? (Diabetes care, 2026, PMID 41842727): "We investigated the prevalence of elevated LDL cholesterol in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D), contributing factors, the frequency of lipid-lowering medication (LLM), and the achievement of target values."
• May Multiple Mechanisms Contribute to Robust Type 1 Diabetes Protection in Nfkbid- Overexpressing NOD Mice. (Diabetes, 2026, PMID 41860446): "We previously reported that transgenic overexpression of Nfkbid in NOD mice led to robust type 1 diabetes protection associated with enhanced negative selection of autoreactive T cells and expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) with increased suppressive capacity."
• May Global differences in thyroid autoimmunity and hypothyroidism among children with type 1 diabetes: data from the SWEET database. (Diabetes research and clinical practice, 2026, PMID 41856331): "This study aims to report on the global differences in the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity and hypothyroidism among children with T1D registered in the SWEET database and identifying the associated characteristics."
• May Comparison of incidence patterns and risk profiles of ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in type 1 diabetes in Finland: a nationwide cohort study. (The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, 2026, PMID 41871591): "The incidence and risk profiles of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) are understudied in type 1 diabetes."
• May Role of sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in the modulation of QTc interval and ventricular arrhythmia in patients with diabetes mellitus combined with hypertension and coronary artery disease. (Pakistan journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 2026, PMID 41879409): "Patients with diabetes mellitus combined with hypertension and coronary artery disease (DM-HTN-CAD) are prone to QTc interval prolongation and ventricular arrhythmia."
• May Cost-Effectiveness of Continuous Glucose Monitoring With Remote Patient Monitoring in Pediatric Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes in the U.S. (Diabetes care, 2026, PMID 41879358): "...in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes in the U.S."