Type 1 diabetes presenting initially as type 2 diabetes which remitted with lifestyle change

Abstract

We present a case of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in a middle-aged Caucasian woman who initially presented with phenotypic characteristics of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and whose type 2 phenotype contributed to accelerated progression of T1DM. This case illustrates the challenges in making a clinical diagnosis of T1DM in patients who also have phenotypic features of T2DM. Recognising such presentations is important in order to make the correct diagnosis and potentially to offer immunotherapy-based interventions while beta cell function is still relatively well preserved.