Children with type 1 diabetes must aggressively monitor their blood sugar. By Jennifer Couzin-FrankelLong before type 1 diabetes is diagnosed in patients, who sometimes show up at the hospital so sick they need to be admitted to intensive care, it has taken a silent toll: The immune system has mounted stealth attacks on insulinmaking cells in the pancreas.
Scientists are now weighing whether to routinely screen children for those hidden attacks, which could spot youngsters at risk years before symptoms surge.At the moment, there is no way to prevent the disease.
But screening trials suggest finding high-risk children can avert severe illness at diagnosis. Identifying those likely to develop diabetes could also accelerate the testing of