National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus



Other Names:
TNDM1; TNDM; DMTN; TNDM1; TNDM; DMTN; Diabetes mellitus, transient neonatal; Chromosome 6-associated transient diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus, 6q24-related transient neonatal See More
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Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDB) is a type of diabetes that appears within the first few weeks of life but is transient; affected infants go into remission within a few months, with possible relapse to permanent diabetes in adolescence or adulthood.[1] Affected individuals have slow growth before birth followed by hyperglycemia, dehydration and failure to thrive in infancy.[2] Approximately 70% of cases are caused by the overactivity of certain genes in a region of the long (q) arm of chromosome 6 called 6q24.[3][4] These cases are referred to as 6q24-related TNDB; most (but not all) of these cases are not inherited.[4] Other genetic causes include mutations in the KCNJ11 and ABCC8 genes, which usually cause permanent neonatal diabetes.[3] Treatment may include rehydration and intravenous insulin at the time of diagnosis, followed by subcutaneous insulin.[3]
Last updated: 8/28/2012

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Abnormality of the pancreatic islet cells 0006476
Dehydration 0001944
Failure to thrive
Faltering weight
Weight faltering
[ more ]
0001508
Glycosuria
Glucose in urine
0003076
Hypovolemia
Depleted blood volume
0011106
Intrauterine growth retardation
Prenatal growth deficiency
Prenatal growth retardation
[ more ]
0001511
Weight loss 0001824
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita 0002804
Bilateral ptosis
Drooping of both upper eyelids
0001488
Contractures of the joints of the lower limbs 0005750
Downturned corners of mouth
Downturned corners of the mouth
Downturned mouth
[ more ]
0002714
Global developmental delay 0001263
Intellectual disability
Mental deficiency
Mental retardation
Mental retardation, nonspecific
Mental-retardation
[ more ]
0001249
Ketonuria 0002919
Motor delay 0001270
Prominent metopic ridge 0005487
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Abnormal heart morphology
Abnormality of the heart
Abnormally shaped heart
Heart defect
[ more ]
0001627
Apraxia 0002186
Bilateral tonic-clonic seizure
Grand mal seizures
0002069
Coma 0001259
Generalized myoclonic seizure 0002123
Hearing impairment
Deafness
Hearing defect
[ more ]
0000365
Muscular hypotonia
Low or weak muscle tone
0001252
Neonatal onset 0003623
Renal tubular dysfunction
Abnormal function of filtrating structures in kidney
0000124
Steatorrhea
Fat in feces
0002570
1%-4% of people have these symptoms
Type II diabetes mellitus
Noninsulin-dependent diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Type II diabetes
[ more ]
0005978
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Autosomal dominant inheritance 0000006
Elevated hemoglobin A1c 0040217
Hyperglycemia
High blood sugar
0003074
Maternal diabetes
gestational diabetes
0009800
Severe failure to thrive
Severe faltering weight
Severe weight faltering
[ more ]
0001525
Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus 0008255
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources


Related diseases are conditions that have similar signs and symptoms. A health care provider may consider these conditions in the table below when making a diagnosis. Please note that the table may not include all the possible conditions related to this disease.

Conditions with similar signs and symptoms from Orphanet
Differential diagnoses include permanent NDM, DEND syndrome (epilepsy, hypotonia, and developmental delay in addition to diabetes mellitus), intermediate DEND, and Wolcott-Rallison syndrome (see these terms) as well as all other syndromic forms of neonatal diabetes mellitus.
Visit the Orphanet disease page for more information.

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

Support and advocacy groups can help you connect with other patients and families, and they can provide valuable services. Many develop patient-centered information and are the driving force behind research for better treatments and possible cures. They can direct you to research, resources, and services. Many organizations also have experts who serve as medical advisors or provide lists of doctors/clinics. Visit the group’s website or contact them to learn about the services they offer. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement by GARD.

Organizations Supporting this Disease

Organizations Providing General Support


These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

Where to Start

In-Depth Information

  • GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
    Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus 1
    Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus 2
    Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus 3
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Transient neonatal diabetes mellitus. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know. Submit a new question

  • My son was diagnosed with neonatal diabetes mellitus. He is 15 days old and we are not sure if this is permanent or transient. I want to know what the lifespan is of babies with this illness. Also how can we find out if this diabetes is transient or permanent? See answer



  1. Michel Polak. Neonatal diabetes mellitus. Orphanet. March 2007; http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?lng=EN&Expert=224. Accessed 8/24/2012.
  2. Permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus. Genetics Home Reference. July 2011; http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/permanent-neonatal-diabetes-mellitus. Accessed 8/24/2012.
  3. Isabel Karen Temple and Deborah JG Mackay. Diabetes Mellitus, 6q24-Related Transient Neonatal. GeneReviews. December 23, 2010; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1534/. Accessed 8/24/2012.
  4. 6q24-related transient neonatal diabetes mellitus. Genetics Home Reference. February 2011; http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/6q24-related-transient-neonatal-diabetes-mellitus. Accessed 8/28/2012.