Familial Persistent Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia of Infancy and Mutations in the Sulfonylurea Receptor

[1st paragraph] Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy is caused by inappropriate and excessive secretion of insulin. Although the disease is rare in outbred communities (approximately 1 case per 50,000 persons), the incidence is approximately 1 per 2500 in inbred Arabic communities in which there is a familial (autosomal recessive) form of the disease. The disease most commonly presents with severe hypoglycemia a few hours after birth, although some cases present after several weeks or months. Some patients have a response to treatment with diazoxide or somatostatin, but others require partial pancreatectomy to control the hyperinsulinism.