A form of diabetes generally seen for the first time in childhood or adolescence.
(Formerly known as juvenile onset diabetes), caused by deficiency of the pancreatic hormone insulin as a result of destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Lack of insulin causes an increase of fasting blood glucose that begins to appear in the urine above the renal threshold.
The type of diabetes mellitus in which the beta cells of the pancreas produce little or no insulin, and the person is completely dependent on injections of insulin for survival. It is more likely to develop in people under 30. Symptoms are usually severe and occur suddenly.
The less common of the two main groups of conditions characterized by an abnormally high glucose (sugar) level in the blood; formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is due to little or no insulin production by the pancreas. People with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections to live. Type 1 diabetes most often occurs in children and young adults, but it can also develop in people older than 40 years.