Nesidioblastosis
Nesidioblastosis is a controversial medical term for
hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia attributed to an abnormal
microscopic appearance of
pancreatic islet development. The term was coined in the first half of the 20th century. The abnormal
histologic aspects of the tissue included the presence of islet cell enlargement, islet cell
dysplasia, beta cells budding from ductal epithelium, and islets in apposition to ducts.
By the 1970s, nesidioblastosis was primarily used to describe the pancreatic dysfunction associated with persistent
congenital hyperinsulinism and in most cases from the 1970s until the 1970s, it was used as a synonym for what we now refer to as congenital hyperinsulinism.
The term fell into disfavor after it was recognized in the late 1980s that the characteristic tissue features were sometimes seen in pancreatic tissue from normal infants and even adults, and is not consistently associated with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. Most congenital hyperinsulinism is caused by different mechanisms than excessive proliferation of beta cells in a fetal pattern.
A small number of case reports have purported to describe nesidioblastosis in adults.
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Congenital hyperinsulinism
