INSULIN AUTOANTIBODIES AND INSULIN-INDUCED ANTIBODIES IN CHILDREN WITH TYPE-1 DIABETES

Aim of the study: The aim was to study the time course of development of insulin antibodies during the first months of treatment in diabetic children, under human insulin therapy, and to see whether the presence of insulin autoantibodies influenced the subsequent binding to insulin. Methods: Anti-insulin antibodies were measured using a radio-binding assay in 16 diabetic children, aged 4-13 years, before the first insulin injection and at regular intervals until the 9th month of treatment. Results: Insulin autoantibodies were detected in 11 out of the 16 children at the time of diagnosis. Binding to insulin increased significantly after one month of treatment in these children, and after 2 months in the children with no insulin autoantibodies at diagnosis. After 2 months insulin therapy, all the children demonstrated antibodies against insulin. Insulin binding at 9 months was not correlated to the baseline values. Anti-insulin antibodies develop rapidly and frequently under human insulin, and are not influenced by the presence of insulin autoantibodies.