Diva D. De León is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes and the Director of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the largest center in the world dedicated to the management of children with hypoglycemia disorders. Dr. De León specializes in pediatric hypoglycemia disorders, particularly, congenital hyperinsulinism. An emphasis of Dr. De León’s clinical practice is the establishment of evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hypoglycemia disorders in children with the goal of improving long-term outcomes. Dr. De León directs an active translational research program funded by the National Institute of Health focused on examining the pathophysiology of monogenic disorders of insulin regulation resulting in hyper and hypoglycemia in children, the role of the entero-insular axis in the pathogenesis of these disorders, and how the understanding of these mechanisms can be applied towards developing novel therapies for these conditions.
Dr. De León specializes in the diagnosis and management of monogenic disorders of insulin regulation resulting in diabetes and hypoglycemia. She is the Director of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. De León predominantly cares for children with congenital and acquired forms of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia.
Selected Publications
Stanescu DE, Hughes N, Patel P, De León DD: A novel mutation in GATA6 causes pancreatic agenesis. Pediatr Diabetes 16(1): 67-70, Feb 2015.
Browning E, Wang H, Hong N, Yu K, Buerk DG, DeBolt K, Gonder D, Sorokina EM, Patel P, De León DD, Feinstein SI, Fisher AB and Chatterjee S: Mechanotransduction drives post ischemic revascularization through KATP channel closure and production of reactive oxygen species. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling 20(6): 872-86, Feb 2014.
Lord K, Dzata E, Snider KE, Gallagher PR, De León DD: Clinical presentation and management of children with diffuse and focal hyperinsulinism: a review of 223 cases. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 98(11): E1786-9, Nov 2013.
Calabria AC, Li C, Gallagher PR, Stanley CA, De León DD: GLP-1 receptor antagonist exendin-(9-39) elevates fasting blood glucose levels in congenital hyperinsulinism due to inactivating mutations in the ATP-sensitive K+ channel. Diabetes 61(10): 2585-91, Oct 2012.
Stanescu DE, Hughes N, Kaplan B, Stanley CA, De León DD: Novel presentations of congenital hyperinsulinism due to mutations in the MODY genes: HNF1A and HNF4A. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 97(10): E2026-30, Oct 2012.
Lin YW, Akrouh A, Hsu YC, Hughes N, Nichols CG, De León DD: Compound heterozygous mutations int eh SUR1 (ABCC 8) subunit of pancreatic K(ATP) channels cause neonatal diabetes by perturbing the coupling between Kir6.2 and SUR1 subunits. Channels (Austin) 6(2): 133-8, March-April 2012.
Calabria AC, Gallagher PR, Simmons R, Blinman T, De León DD: Postoperative surveillance and detection of postprandial hypoglycemia after fundoplasty in children. J Pediatr 159(4): 597-601, Oct 2011.
Pinney SE, Oliver-Krasinski J, Ernst L, Hughes N, Patel P, Stoffers DA, Russo P, De León DD: Neonatal diabetes and congenital malabsorptive diarrhea attributable to a novel mutation in the human neurogenin-3 gene coding sequence. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96(7): 1960-5, Jul 2011.
Masia R, De León DD, MacMullen C, McKnight H, Stanley CA, Nichols CG: A mutations in the TMD0-L0 region of sulfonylurea receptor-1 (L225P) causes permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus (PNDM) Diabetes 56(5): 1357-62, May 2007.
De León DD, Stanley CA: Permanent Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus
GeneReviews® [Internet] Pagon RA, Adam MP, Ardinger HH, et al., editors (eds.). Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2016. Feb 2008 [Updated 2016 Jul 29] Notes: Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1447/
De León DD, Stanley CA, Sperling MA: Hypoglycemia in Neonates and Infants. Pediatric Endocrinology Sperling, MA (eds.). Saunders, 3rd edition, 2008.
De León DD, Li C, Delson MI, Matschinsky FM, Stanley CA, Stoffers DA: Exendin-(9-39) corrects fasting hypoglycemia in SUR-1-/- mice by lowering cAMP in pancreatic beta-cells and inhibiting insulin secretion. J Biol Chem 283(38): 25786-93, Sep 2008.
Palladino AA, Sayed S, Katz LE, Gallagher PR, De León DD: Increased glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion and post-prandial hypoglycemia in children after Nissen fundoplication. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94(1): 39-44, Jan 2009.
De León DD: Role of Incretin Hormones in Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia Frontiers in Diabetes: Monogenic Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia Disorders. Stanley CA and De León DD (eds.). Karger, Basel, Switzerland, 21, Feb 2012.
De León DD, Stanley CA: Pathophysiology of Diffuse ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channel Hyperinsulinism. Frontiers in Diabetes: Monogenic Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia Disorders. Stanley CA and De León DD (eds.). Karger, Basel, Switzerland, 21, Feb 2012.
Lord K, De León DD: Monogenic hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia: current insights into the pathogenesis and management. Int J Pediatr Endocrinol 1: 3, Feb 2013.
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Last updated: 04/07/2025
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