THE roots of type 1 diabetes might reach in an unexpected direction: faulty nerves in the pancreas could be to blame.
Type 1 diabetes has long been thought of as an autoimmune disease in which the immune system targets islet cells in the pancreas, eventually destroying their ability to produce insulin. Without insulin, the body can’t convert glucose into energy, so people with type 1 diabetes have to regularly inject themselves with insulin to survive.
What launches the original attack on the pancreas has been unclear, however. It now seems that the nervous system may play a key role, say…
