Investigations in children who were in utero at onset of insulin-dependent diabetes in their mothers.

55 children who were in utero when type 1 diabetes developed in their mothers were studied at a mean (SEM) age of 10.4 (0.6) years: only 1 was diabetic. Biochemical and immunological indices, measured in 35 children, showed no evidence of beta cell dysfunction. Thus, the fetal beta cells seem to be unaffected by the mechanisms that cause diabetes in their mothers.