Single test could identify diabetes MODY and prevent unnecessary medication

Researchers from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation have developed a diagnostic test which identifies any of the 13 genes variants that are known to cause a rarer type of diabetes, Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY).
Diabetes MODY is a genetic condition in which variants of a specific gene cause blood glucose levels to rise too high. Around 5% of people diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are believed to actually have diabetes MODY.
There is a number of different sub-types of diabetes MODY which relate to the different genes that are affected. Some forms of diabetes MODY are more prevalent than others and diabetes treatment may vary between the different types.
If diabetes MODY is not properly diagnosed, it can lead to patients taking unnecessary medication, which can sometimes cause unnecessary injections to be taken and can also lead to hypoglycemia to occurring which could have been avoided if the correct diagnosis of Diabetes MODY had been given.
The diagnostic test is a big step forwards as, previously, individual tests were required to identify individual MODY types. This means people undergoing the test will be able to get a quicker diagnosis and therefore be put on the most appropriate treatment, which may or may not involve diabetes medication, sooner.