INS and diabetes mellitus: Diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) is an organ-specific chronic autoimmune disease that accounts for 5-10% of all cases of diabetes and is characterized by progressive immunomediated destruction of pancreatic beta-cells, thereby resulting in insufficient insulin production.1 The immunogenetic and environmental factors associated with the onset and maintenance of the pancreatic lesions observed in DM1 are not yet fully understood.2