Atypical diabetes subtypes and presentations are disproportionately prevalent in populations of African and Asian ancestry. This review discusses the epidemiology, clinical presentation, aetiopathogenesis and management of four atypical diabetes subtypes commonly reported in Black African populations. These are ketosis-prone diabetes (KPD), fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD), type 2 diabetes in individuals without overweight or obesity, and malnutrition-related diabetes (MRD). The review summarises current insights into these atypical diabetes subtypes in Black African populations and provides practical recommendations to guide their precision diagnosis and management in the African region. These four atypical diabetes subtypes exhibit phenotypic features that diverge from those of classical type 1 and type 2 diabetes. KPD is characterised by unprovoked, transient, index episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis, often in the absence of markers of islet cell autoimmunity, with frequent subsequent insulin independence and diabetes remission. FCPD typically presents in young lean individuals, with a strong male preponderance and with radiological evidence of pancreatic calcifications, reduced beta cell reserve and severe hyperglycaemia without ketosis. Type 2 diabetes in individuals without overweight or obesity is characterised by normal BMI with a trend towards low levels of markers of visceral adiposity, insulin resistance and an exaggerated beta cell secretory dysfunction. MRD is associated with a previous and persistent history of undernutrition, with features of undernutrition such as stunting and BMI <18.5 kg/m2, resistance to diabetic ketoacidosis, no evidence of visceral or ectopic adiposity, and severe beta cell secretory dysfunction. The high prevalence and heterogeneous presentation of these atypical forms of diabetes in African populations highlight the urgent need for enhanced collaborative research to better define their epidemiology, improve diagnostic accuracy and develop context-appropriate management strategies tailored to diverse African populations.
Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems have significantly advanced diabetes management, progressively reducing user interactions required for optimal glucose management. This review evaluates the current landscape and future potential of AID systems without meal announcement, particularly focusing on real-world insights from open-source AID (OS-AID) technologies. Although commercial AID systems operating in hybrid closed-loop (HCL) mode have improved glycaemic outcomes, they remain dependent on manual meal announcement and user-driven actions, limiting their real-world utility. Current versions of OS-AID systems, developed by the diabetes community, can allow operation without meal announcements, presenting an opportunity to move closer to truly automated diabetes management. Recent clinical trials suggest that OS-AID systems can effectively manage glucose levels without meal announcements, achieving glucose levels comparable with those obtained by AID systems in HCL mode, with the potential of reduced management burden for users. However, practical challenges persist, including the need for expert configuration and handling of rapid changes in insulin sensitivity, such as during exercise or rapid glucose fluctuations following predicted low-glucose. This review synthesises insights from user and healthcare professional experiences, and emerging clinical evidence. It highlights the fact that successful implementation of AID without meal announcement requires advanced algorithmic responsiveness, user personalisation and ongoing clinician engagement. Looking forward, integrating adjunctive therapies, artificial intelligence and enhanced physiological modelling will likely enhance system performance to drive the next generation of diabetes care towards wider adoption and true 'set-and-forget' functionality.
Aims/hypothesis: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with fetoplacental endothelial dysfunction, including impaired extracellular clearance of adenosine, a vasodilator, in HUVECs. This study investigated the regulation of intracellular pH (pHi) and its impact on adenosine membrane transport in HUVECs. The hypothesis of this study was that Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) isoform 1 (NHE1)-dependent pHi regulation differs between normal and GDM pregnancies depending on maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, leading to differential human equilibrative nucleoside transporters-mediated adenosine transport.
Methods: HUVECs were isolated from 43 women with normal pregnancies and 23 with type A1 GDM and further stratified by maternal pre-pregnancy BMI into subgroups with normal weight, overweight and obesity. Data were also analysed as pooled groups (BMI ≥20 kg/m2). pHi and dpHi/dt were assessed in cells preloaded with the pH-sensitive fluorescent probe 2,7-bicarboxyethyl-5,6-carboxyfluorescein acetoxymethyl ester (12 µmol/l), in the absence or presence of 20 mmol/l NH4Cl (acid pulse), the general NHEs inhibitor 5-N,N-hexamethylene amiloride (5 µmol/l) or the NHE1-selective inhibitor zoniporide (100 nmol/l). Intrinsic buffering capacity and H⁺ flux were calculated. NHE1 protein abundance was quantified by western blotting, and adenosine transport kinetics (0-500 µmol/l, 10 s) were determined.
Results: GDM was linked to intracellular alkalinisation (~0.6 pHi units vs normal pregnancies), increased activity of NHE1 and NHE isoforms 2 and 3 and reduced buffering capacity, with these effects varying by pre-pregnancy maternal BMI. Increased pHi recovery (~3.8-fold) and NHE1 activity (~4.8-fold) were observed in cells from women with GDM and pre-pregnancy overweight, while those with obesity (i.e. gestational diabesity) showed unaltered NHE1-mediated pHi recovery. Buffering capacity was reduced across most GDM groups, except in the overweight group. The GDM-reduced adenosine transport maximal capacity via human equilibrative nucleoside transporter isoform 2 was restored by intracellular acidification in GDM.
Conclusions/interpretation: Pre-pregnancy maternal metabolic status influences endothelial adaptation or maladaptation to GDM. Stratifying GDM cases by pre-pregnancy maternal BMI uncovers subgroup-specific physiological responses, highlighting the importance of tailored approaches in understanding GDM pathophysiology.

