A research team has identified a new gene that likely affects a child's chances of developing type 1 diabetes, according to media reports Monday.

The researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and McGill University in Montreal identified the gene KIAA0350 believed to play the biggest part in type 1 diabetes susceptibility after studying more than 500 patients with the disease and 1,000 healthy people.

Type 1 diabetes is generally diagnosed between the ages of ten and 14, but by then damage is so great that patients need regular injections of insulin to stay alive. The chronic disease affects about 20.8 million people in the U.S. and is diagnosed in 13,000 children each year.

The new gene appears to be active almost exclusively in the body's immune cells, according to the researchers. It is believed the gene encodes a complex molecule, made up of both proteins and sugars, that binds to cells and damages them. "Type 1 diabetes is clearly one of complex genetic disorders," said Dr. Hakon Hakonarson of the team.

Until recently, only four of the genes responsible for this disease have been identified. This is the fifth gene.

The causes of Type 1 diabetes are still not fully understood. It is estimated that approximately half are genetic and the other half environmental, which is why the new work is important.

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