Diabetes Program
Who we are
Here at the Diabetes Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, our team is dedicated to empowering your child to lead a normal life through the effective management of her diabetes or other disorder of carbohydrate metabolism.
We understand that when your child is diagnosed with diabetes, fears for her safety as well as uncertainties surrounding lifestyle changes—often for the whole family—can loom large, and we’re here to help. Our team includes:
- specialists in diabetology and endocrinology to determine the proper course of treatment for your child
- diabetes nurse educatorsto show you and your child how to monitor blood glucose levels and practice other aspects of the self-care your child needs to help prevent future complications dieticians and nutritioniststo help plan an individual meal plan for your child
- medical social workersto help you attend to your child’s psycho-social needs, navigate the challenges of life with diabetes, and connect with support groups and other community resources.
Excellence in care
Children's has been ranked second in Diabetes in the U.S.News Media Group's 2011-2012 edition of America's Best Children's Hospitals featured in the August issue of U.S.News & World Report.
Comprehensive care
At Children’s, we provide comprehensive care to infants, children, adolescents and young adults with all types of diabetes, including:
- type 1 diabetes
- type 2 diabetes
- cystic fibrosis-related diabetes
- steroid-induced diabetes
- post-pancreatectomy diabetes
- other rare forms of diabetes
From diagnostic evaluation through management of any acute complications to long-term management and follow-up care, we strive to provide compassionate, patient-centered care. We see patients at our Boston campus and at several locations throughout Eastern Massachusetts.
How Children's approaches diabetes
Because diabetes can require lifelong management, researchers at Children’s are investigating the earliest stages of the disease in order to understand how the disease develops and how it can be treated. Areas of research focus on
- how to keep the insulin-secreting beta cells alive as a method both for treatment and prevention of Type I diabetes
- tempering autoimmune activity in Type I diabetes
- long-term follow up of diabetic patients for quality of life
- genetic factors for obesity, which can lead to Type II diabetes
- genetic factors for diabetes-related kidney failure
- predictors related to glycemic control
In addition to developing a hospital registry, researchers are also working with Massachusetts to help track the growing incidence of Type I diabetes in the state.
Diabetes research and innovation
As part of the effort to understand the development of genetic diseases, Children’s has created induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are cells taken from patients and reprogrammed to look and function like embryonic stem cells. Scientists use these iPS cells to model the genetic diseases of the patients from whom they were taken, including Type I diabetes patients.
Related Services:
Traveling with diabetes
