New test could identify infants with rare insulin disease

[Northerner]

A rare form of a devastating disease that causes low blood sugar levels in babies and infants may now be recognized earlier thanks to a new test. Congenital hyperinsulinism starves a baby's brain of blood sugar and can lead to lifelong brain damage or permanent disability. The condition occurs when specialised cells in the pancreas release too much insulin which causes frequent low sugar episodes -- the clinical opposite of diabetes. Treatment includes drugs to reduce insulin release but in the most serious cases the pancreas is removed.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141023090818.htm