BITS ‘N’ PIECES
Narrated Abu Huraira (R.A.):
Allah’s Apostle (P.B.U.H.) was asked, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, “What is the next (in goodness)? He replied, “To participate in jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause.” The questioner again asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?” He replied, “To perform Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) ‘Mubrur, (which is accepted by Allah and is performed with the intention of seeking Allah’s pleasure only and not to show off and without committing a sin and in accordance with the traditions of the Prophet).”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 25
Scientists have identified a new form of diabetes linked to undernutrition.
Scientists have officially recognised a new form of diabetes: type 5 diabetes, which may affect up to 25 million people worldwide, mainly across Asia and Africa. Though first noticed more than 70 years ago, it has only now been formally classified and understood.
Until recently, textbooks recognised three main types of the disease: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 1 occurs when the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Type 2, the most common, develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough of it. Gestational diabetes appears temporarily during pregnancy, usually due to hormonal changes.
There are also several other less common types, like type 3 diabetes (a term used by some researchers to describe the link between diabetes, insulin resistance, and Alzheimer's disease) and type 4 diabetes (a proposed term for a type of insulin resistance that occurs in older, lean individuals).
But type 5 diabetes is different. It isn’t caused by autoimmunity or insulin resistance. Instead, scientists believe it stems from chronic undernutrition in early life, which weakens the pancreas and limits its ability to produce insulin. People with this condition are typically underweight and have struggled with food insecurity since childhood.
"Type 5 diabetes is characterized by insufficient insulin secretion leading to elevated blood glucose levels, similar to other forms of diabetes," Dr. Rachel Reinert, an endocrinologist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, explained. "However, type 5 diabetes is not associated with autoimmunity (as in type 1 diabetes) nor insulin resistance (as is common in type 2 diabetes)." It also lacks the features of the more rare type 3 and type 4 diabetes, she said.
Treatment is tricky. Too much insulin combined with too little food can dangerously lower blood sugar levels, especially in areas where food scarcity is common. That’s why doctors stress the importance of accurate diagnosis and careful management.
The condition drew attention earlier this year through the YODA (Young-Onset Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa) study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Researchers studying nearly 900 young adults across Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa found that two-thirds of those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes actually lacked the autoimmune markers of the disease. They still produced some insulin, but not enough, a hallmark of type 5 diabetes.
This discovery revived an idea first proposed in the 1950s by British doctor Philip Hugh-Jones, who described a similar pattern among his Jamaican patients and called it ‘Type J’ diabetes. His work, however, was largely forgotten. Experts hope that officially recognising type 5 diabetes will lead to greater awareness, research, and funding.