By Frederike Buhse, Kiel University — 1 September 2020
SARS-CoV-2 can penetrate the beta cells in the pancreas and damage them, as a research team at Kiel University observed for the first time. These cells are responsible for producing insulin. A SARS-CoV-2 infection can apparently disrupt this function, leading to diabetes. The findings were published in the journal Nature Metabolism, based on a case of a 19-year-old patient with newly-developed severe diabetes with insulin deficiency after COVID-19.