Michelle Trachtenberg in West Hollywood, Calif., in 2020. Photo:
Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
- Michelle Trachtenberg’s sudden death was caused by complications from diabetes, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said
- The disease can be fatal if symptoms aren’t managed, and it’s often called the “silent killer,” an expert tells PEOPLE
- Trachtenberg reportedly had a liver transplant, which can cause diabetes in 30% of cases
Michelle Trachtenberg’s sudden death at age 39 led to speculation about how she died. But on Wednesday, April 16, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to PEOPLE that she died from complications of diabetes mellitus.
Her death was ruled as natural.
“We call diabetes a silent killer,” Dr. Zinoviy Abelev, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Northwell Health and Assistant Professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, tells PEOPLE.
Michelle Trachtenberg posted her last selfie on Instagram on Feb. 12. Michelle Tractenberg/Instagram
“For the most part, a lot of times people don’t even recognize the signs of diabetes,” Dr. Abelev, who did not investigate Trachetenberg’s death, explains. “It’s slow damage to the organs, slow damage to the heart, slow damage to the kidneys, liver, eyes, blood vessels.”
He continued: “The only way to prevent this is proper recognition of the symptoms and controlling the blood sugar,” which is done with medication like insulin or GLP-1 injections, or pills.
Symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes, “especially if it’s a newly onset,” he says, include excessive thirst, fatigue, unintentional weight loss, frequent urination, blurry visions, wounds that slowly heal, and frequent yeast and urinary tract infections.
Sources told PEOPLE that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum had recently undergone a liver transplant and may have experienced complications from the surgery.
Michelle Trachtenberg with Sarah Michelle Gellar on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo
“We do not know whether she had a pre-existing diabetes, which could have also contributed to the need for the liver transplant,” Dr. Abelev tells PEOPLE, adding that diabetes can also be a complication of a liver transplant, occurring in 30% of cases.
“There’s a name for that. It’s called NODAT, or New Onset Diabetes After Transplant,” he says. “[Patients] are placed on chronic immunosuppressive medications and steroids called prednisone, and we do encounter patients on chronic steroid replacement having elevated blood sugar.”
But, as he shares, “typically all post-transplant patients, whether it’s liver or anything else, are very closely managed.”
If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms of diabetes, Dr. Abelev recommends seeking medical care immediately.
“Once people develop complications, for the most part it’s a one-way street,” he tells PEOPLE. “The complications are irreversible.”
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