Up to now, only limited data on long-term medical treatment in congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is available. Moreover, most of the drugs used in CHI are therefore not approved. We aimed to assemble more objective information on medical treatment in CHI with regard to type and duration, dosage as well as side effects. We searched MEDLINE (from 1947) and EMBASE (from 1988) using the OVID interface for relevant data to evaluate medical treatment in a large cohort of patients with CHI from different clinical centers. Randomized, controlled trials were not available. We evaluated case reports and case series. No language restrictions were made. A total number of 619 patients were medically treated and information regarding conservative treatment was available. Drugs used were diazoxide (in 84 % of patients), somatostatin analogues (16 %), calcium channel antagonists (4 %) and glucagon (1 %). Mean dose of diazoxide was 12.5 (±4.3) mg/kg ⋅ d (range 2–60 mg/kg ⋅ d), mean duration of diazoxide treatment until remission was 57 months. Side effects of diazoxide were usually not severe. The causal relation between diazoxide and severe side effects, e.g. heart failure (3.7 %) remains doubtful. Mean dose of octreotide was 14.9 (±7.5) μg/kg ⋅ d (range 2.3–50 μg/kg ⋅ d), of lanreotide 67.3 (±39.8) mg ⋅ month (range 10–120 mg ⋅ month). Mean duration of treatment with somatostatin analogues until remission was 49 months. Frequent side effects included tachyphylaxis and mild gastrointestinal symptoms. The risk of persistent growth deceleration was low (<5 %). Severe side effects are rare and a causal relation remains disputable. We conclude that long-term conservative treatment of CHI is feasible.

Treatment of severe diffuse congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) without sufficient response to diazoxide is complicated by the lack of approved drugs. Therefore, patients are often hospitalized long-term or have to undergo pancreatic surgery if episodes of severe hypoglycaemia cannot be prevented. A long-acting somatostatin analogue, octreotide, has been reported to be an effective treatment option that prevents severe hypoglycaemia in children with CHI, and its off-label use is common in CHI. However, octreotide requires continuous i.v. or s.c. infusion or multiple daily injections. Here, we report our experiences with the use of a monthly application of a long-acting somatostatin analogue, lanreotide autogel® (LAN-ATG), in early infancy. The mean blood glucose concentration within 7 days before the first LAN-ATG administration were compared to 7 days after the first LAN-ATG administration and increased by 0.75 mmol/L (range 0.39–1.19 mmol/L). In the following weeks intravenous glucose infusions, octreotide, and glucagon treatment could be successfully stopped in all patients 3–20 days after the first LAN-ATG injection without substantial worsening of the hypoglycaemia rate. Increased carbohydrate requirements could be normalized with an average reduction in the carbohydrate-intake of 7 g/kg body weight/d (range 1.75–12.8 g/kg body weight/d). Over a total of 52 treatment months, no serious adverse effects occurred. Long-term LAN-ATG treatment improved blood glucose concentrations, lowered the frequency of hypoglycaemia or allowed for normalization of oral carbohydrate intake in infants with CHI younger than 6 months of age. No severe side effects were observed. LAN-ATG might be an alternative treatment option in infants with severe CHI who lack risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis and are not responding to current treatment regimens as an alternative to surgery after careful individual evaluation.

Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most common cause of persistent hypoglycaemia in infancy that leads to unfavourable neurological outcome if not treated adequately. In patients with severe diffuse CHI it remains under discussion whether pancreatic surgery should be performed or intensive medical treatment with the acceptance of recurrent episodes of mild hypoglycaemia is justified. Near-total pancreatectomy is associated with high rates of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Little is known about the management and long-term glycaemic control of CHI patients with diabetes after pancreatic surgery. We searched the German/Austrian DPV database and compared the course of 42 CHI patients with diabetes to that of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Study groups were compared at diabetes onset and after a follow-up period of 6.1 [3.3–9.7] (median [interquartile range]) years. The majority of CHI patients with diabetes were treated with insulin (85.2% [70.9–99.5] at diabetes onset, and 90.5% [81.2–99.7] at follow-up). However, compared to patients with T1DM, significantly more patients in the CHI group with diabetes were treated with conventional insulin therapy (47.8% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.03 at diabetes onset, and 21.1% vs. 6.4% at follow-up, p = 0.003), and only a small number of CHI patients were treated with insulin pumps. Daily insulin dose was significantly lower in CHI patients with diabetes than in patients with T1DM, both at diabetes onset (0.3 [0.2–0.5] vs. 0.6 IE/kg/d [0.4–0.8], p = 0.003) and follow-up (0.8 [0.4–1.0] vs. 0.9 [0.7–1.0] IE/kg/d, p = 0.02), while daily carbohydrate intake was comparable in both groups. Within the first treatment year, HbA1c levels were significantly lower in CHI patients with diabetes (6.2% [5.5–7.9] vs. 7.2% [6.5–8.2], p = 0.003), but increased to a level comparable to that of T1DM patients at follow-up. Interestingly, in CHI patients, the risk of severe hypoglycaemia tends to be higher only at diabetes onset (14.8% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.1). In surgically treated CHI patients insulin treatment needs to be intensified in order to achieve good glycaemic control. Our data furthermore emphasize the need for improved medical treatment options for patients with diazoxide- and/or octreotide-unresponsive CHI.

The highest genetic type 1 diabetes risk is conferred by HLA class II haplotypes defined by alleles at the HLA-DR and -DQ loci. The combination of HLA-DQA1*03:01 and DQB1*03:02 alleles (summarized as ‘HLA-DQ8′) is reported to be among the two most prevalent HLA class II haplotypes in Caucasian type 1 diabetes patients. This classification is based on conventional genotyping of exon 2 of the DQ gene locus and excludes exon 3. In this study, HLA genotyping on the type 1 diabetes susceptibility loci HLA-DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 was performed using a high-resolution next generation sequencing method. In addition to the routinely examined exon 2, exon 3 was also sequenced. Samples from 229 children with type 1 diabetes were included and compared to a cohort of 9,786 controls. In addition to previously described HLA-DQ haplotypes in type 1 diabetes patients, we found that as well as HLA-DQA1*03:01,HLA-DQA1*03:03 also contributed to HLA-DQ8. HLA-DQA1*03:03 differs from HLA-DQA1*03:01 by one nucleotide substitution in exon 3 at position 160, leading to a single amino acid replacement. DRB1*04:05 was exclusively associated with DQA1*03:03 whereas the DRB1*04:01 haplotype comprised either DQA1*03:01 or DQA1*03:03. Significantly increased type 1 diabetes risk was confirmed for all these haplotypes with only minor differences between DQA1*03:01 and DQA1*03:03 alleles. This study identified the HLA-DQA1*03:03 allele as an addition to the already known type 1 diabetes risk haplotypes, and can contribute to more precise HLA genotyping approaches.

Background: Wolcott-Rallison syndrome (WRS) is characterized by permanent early-onset diabetes, skeletal dysplasia and several additional features, e.g. recurrent liver failure. This is the first multicentre approach that focuses on diabetes management in WRS. We searched the German/Austrian Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation (DPV) registry and studied anthropometric characteristics, diabetes treatment, glycaemic control and occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia (SH) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in 11 patients with WRS. Furthermore, all local treatment centres were personally contacted to retrieve additional information on genetic characteristics, migration background and rate of consanguinity. Results: Data were analysed at diabetes onset and after a median follow-up period of 3 (1.5–9.0) years (time from diagnosis to latest follow-up). Median age at diabetes onset was 0.2 (0.1–0.3) years, while onset was delayed in one patient (aged 16 months). Seventy percent of patients manifested with DKA. At follow-up, 90% of patients were on insulin pump therapy requiring 0.7 [0.5–1.0] IU of insulin/kg/d. More than two third of patients had HbA1c level ≥ 8%, 40% experienced at least one episode of SH in the course of the disease. Three patients died at 0.6, 5 and 9 years of age, respectively. To the best of our knowledge three patients carried novel mutations in EIF2AK3. Conclusion: Insulin requirements of individuals with WRS registered in DPV appear to be comparable to those of preschool children with well-controlled type 1 diabetes, while glycaemic control tends to be worse and episodes of SH tend to be more common. The majority of individuals with WRS in the DPV registry does not reach glycaemic target for HbA1c as defined for preschool children (< 7.5%). International multicentre studies are required to further improve our knowledge on the care of children with WRS.