Pancreas volume is decreased in stages 1, 2, and 3 of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and decreases during the first year after diabetes onset, according to a recent study, and this loss of pancreatic volume is accompanied by microstructural changes. MRI was performed in individuals with recent-onset stage 3 T1D (n=51; median age 13 years) within 100 days after diagnosis (mean 67 days), 6 months, and 1 year post-diagnosis. Longitudinal MRI measurements were also made in similarly aged control participants (n=57) and in autoantibody-positive individuals without diabetes (n=20). Researchers found:

• Within 100 days of diabetes onset, individuals with T1D had a smaller pancreas (median volume 28.6 mL) than control participants (median volume 48.4 mL), including when normalized by individual weight.
• Longitudinal measurements of pancreas volume increased in control participants over the year, consistent with adolescent growth, but pancreas volume declined over the first year after T1D diagnosis.
• In multiple autoantibody-positive individuals, the pancreas volume was significantly larger than the cohort with T1D, but smaller than the control cohort.