Abstract
Type 1 diabetes mellitus was up to mid nineties regarded as the disease of children and young adults. The research in the last decade brought many proofs, that type 1 diabetes occurs in all age groups of patient and that the majority of all cases is manifested after 35 years of age.
The possibility to diagnose the autoimmune type 1 diabetes were basically changed due to essays of antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase (GADA) and tyrosine pfopshatase ( IA - 2). Type 1 diabetes in higher age has in most cases less dramatic manifestation than in childhood and younger age.
It occurs mostly in non obese people and has slow clinical manifestation. After the diagnosis, the majority of patients is still treated by diet, after some weeks or months the sulfonylurea is added to the therapy and after certain period the insulin therapy is necessary.
In recent time, if type 1 diabetes is undoubtedly diagnosed , in ideally on the basis of GADA and IA - 2 investigation, the insulin therapy should be started form the beginning of the manifestation of diabetic syndrome. Insulin therapy can also save the residual function of B - cells of Langerhans islets and so help to prevent microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes.