Reduction of diabetes incidence in NOD mice by neonatal glucose treatment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether neonatal glucose treatment influences the incidence of diabetes in NOD mice. Thirty-nine NOD mice (19 males, 20 females) were treated with 8 g glucose/kg BW/day administered by subcutaneous injections twice a day for the first six days of life. Thirty-six untreated NOD mice (20 males, 16 females) served as a control group. In the glucose-treated group, 33% became diabetic compared with 58% in the control group (X2 = 5.3, p = 0.021). Among the glucose-treated males, 16% became diabetic compared with 50% of the untreated males (X2 = 5.5, p = 0.019), whereas 50% of the glucose-treated females became diabetic compared with 69% of the untreated females (X2 = 1.1, NS). We conclude that neonatal glucose treatment can reduce the diabetes incidence in NOD mice. These results could have implications for the prevention of type 1 diabetes mellitus in humans.