Islet-cell antibodies in malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus from North India

Abstract

The etiology of malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus (MRDM) - protein-deficient pancreatic diabetes (PDPD) and fibro-calculous pancreatic diabetes (FCPD) - is unclear. We studied the role of autoimmunity against pancreatic islet cells in the etiology of these two subtypes of MRDM by measuring islet-cell antibodies (ICA) in 23 patients with PDPD, 25 with FCPD and 62 with Type 1 diabetes. Three patients (13%) with PDPD had detectable ICA, including a patient with a high titre of ICA (>80 JDF units). The frequency of ICA in patients with PDPD was significantly lower than subjects with Type 1 diabetes (22/62, 35%; P < 0.05). Among patients studied at onset, ICA prevalence was lower in the PDPD..