Viral Antibodies in Diabetes Mellitus
Br Med J 1969; 3 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.3.5671.627 (Published 13 September 1969) Cite this as: Br Med J 1969;3:627- D. R. Gamble,
- M. L. Kinsley,
- M. G. FitzGerald,
- R. Bolton,
- K. W. Taylor
Abstract
Sera from 123 patients with diabetes mellitus of recent onset, 155 patients with diabetes of more than two years' duration, and 250 normal persons were collected over a period of two and a half years. All sera were tested for neutralizing antibody to Coxsackie virus types B1–6, and a sample was tested for complement-fixing antibody to a number of viral, rickettsial, and mycoplasmal antigens.
In diabetics of recent onset no evidence was found of any excess of antibodies to mumps virus or some common respiratory viruses. Insulin-dependent diabetes within three months of onset were found to have higher antibody titres to Coxsackie B virus, particularly of type B4, than either normal subjects or patients with diabetes of longer duration.