Autoimmunity of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes in Japan

In this paper some findings concerning autoimmunity have been studied in young Japanese patients with diabetes. Patients diagnosed before 30 years old were classified carefully into new categories recommended by WHO in 1980: insulin-dependent (IDDM), non-insulin-dependent (NIDDM) and other types of diabetes. HLA antigen types, islet cell antibodies (ICA) and islet cell surface antibodies (ICSA) were checked in the sera. HLA-Bw54 and -DR4 were found in a significantly high percentage of IDDM patients, especially in those with Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus with Special Reference to acute onset of the disease. Positivity of ICA was remarkably high in IDDM Viral Infections patients within one year after the onset, and then decreased very rapidly. ICSA had the same tendency, but the rate of decrease of positivity seemed slower than that of ICA Apparent autoimmune diseases were rare among our patients, and persistent positivity of ICA was found only in a few cases. At this time we have notenough evidence concerning autoimmunity as a major cause of IDDM.