CASE REPORT article
Front. Clin. Diabetes Healthc.
Sec. Diabetes Therapies
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcdhc.2025.1654037
This article is part of the Research TopicImproving Outcomes in Paediatric DiabetesView all 3 articles
When Genetic Diagnosis Comes Late: Lessons from a DEND Syndrome Patient Successfully Transitioned to Sulfonylurea
Provisionally accepted- 1Josué de Castro Nutrition Institute, Center for Health Science, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2Laboratório de Genética Humana, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 3Departamento de Diabetes e Nutrologia, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 4Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica em Neuroinfecções, Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 5Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Instituto de Puericultura e Pediatria Martagao Gesteira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 6Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Instituto de Nutricao Josue de Castro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is a rare cause of diabetes characterized by the presence of severe hyperglycemia typically diagnosed within the first six months of life. Among the main causes are activating variants in heterozygosity in the KCNJ11 gene. Variants in this gene can lead to a spectrum of clinical manifestations, from transitory neonatal diabetes mellitus to DEND syndrome, the most severe form, characterized by developmental delay, epilepsy, neonatal diabetes, and muscle hypotonia. The disease may be present in a milder intermediate form named iDEND syndrome. Patients with KCNJ11 variants may present with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and learning difficulties due to diminished intelligence quotient (IQ) and dyslexia. These patients can benefit from genetic counseling as most of them can switch from insulin to sulfonylurea treatment with good glycemic control and no severe side effects; besides, some studies report a neurological improvement after the treatment switch. In the present work, we reported a follow-up of a 24-year-old Brazilian male with DEND syndrome due to the KCNJ11 c.754G>A; p.(Val252Met) variant. He was diagnosed with diabetes at 25 days of age and presented with bilateral hypoacusis in the first years of life. He started insulin at the diagnosis. However, the genetic diagnosis was made only at the age of 15 years, and he was switched from insulin to sulfonylurea. At 24 years of age, he presents with good glycemic control and reports no severe episodes of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. However, no neurological improvement was observed. This report highlights the potential benefits of switching to sulfonylurea treatment, even in patients with long-standing diagnoses of DEND syndrome, and underscores the importance of genetic diagnosis, as early initiation of sulfonylurea therapy may improve metabolic control and, in some cases, neurological outcomes.
Keywords: Neonatal diabetes mellitus, DEND syndrome, KCNJ11, kir6.2, Sulfonylurea, Late diagnosis
Received: 25 Jun 2025; Accepted: 02 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abreu, Bastos De Souza, Bernardo, da Cruz Junior, Da Fonseca, Salum, Zembrzuski, Lima, Tarantino, Nicolay, De Andrade, Rodacki, Zajdenverg, Luescher, Rosado and Campos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gabriella De Medeiros Abreu, gabriella_bio@yahoo.com.br
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