A diabetic mother who has had to inject herself with insulin every day for ten years has now swapped the syringe for a simple tablet.

Michelle Davies, from Low Moor, is one of a small number of diabetics - about one per cent - to have a genetic form of the condition known as Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY).

Patients with MODY can benefit from different treatment and, for those on daily insulin injections, a tablet can sometimes be taken instead.

Michelle, 29, was recently identified as having MODY by a special project co-ordinated by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, serving West and North Yorkshire.

The scheme is one of 17 in the UK to identify patients with the condition and improve their care.

Michelle said she was thrilled after being given the all-clear to stop the insulin injections.

She added: "I was injecting insulin twice a day and it was becoming a real pain, especially if I was out having a meal and had to sneak off to the toilets.

"It's wonderful now - I just have to take half a tablet every day."

Although many diabetic patients with MODY who already inject insulin will still need to do so, better understanding of their condition will help medical staff to plan their long-term treatment.

There are believed to be about 15,000 to 20,000 people in Bradford with diabetes, most of whom have type two diabetes and do not usually need to inject insulin until treatment with tablets stops working.

Although all forms of diabetes tend to run in families, this is a prominent feature in MODY.

Sandra Dudding, a diabetes specialist nurse at Bradford Royal Infirmary, is a link nurse advising and supporting patients and professionals about MODY.

She has been able to identify the condition in as many as three generations of a single family.

"My role is to help doctors and nurses identify people who may have this condition, and to support and advise patients and their families," she said. "People with MODY benefit from specially tailored treatment and may respond much better to some drug treatments than others.

"The access to specialist support and advice is a great help to them. So far we have found 746 people in the UK with MODY, of whom 15 have been diagnosed in the region. We are sure there are more families out there.

"For some people we have been able to make major changes to the way their diabetes is treated and have avoided unnecessary medical intervention for others.

"By recognising these unusual types of diabetes we can give people treatment and advice matched to their individual cases. And we can learn more about the genetic and metabolic factors which lead to diabetes."