Autoantibodies Are Early Diabetes Warning Signs
|
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 09 Mar 2015 |
Detection of autoantibodies directed against pancreatic islet cells can be used to predict the likelihood of a child developing type I diabetes.
Investigators at Lund University (Sweden) recruited 8,503 participants in the TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study to take part in their autoantibody experiment. The TEDDY study, funded by the [US] National Institutes of Health, involved 8,600 children from Sweden, the USA, Finland, and Germany, who showed an increased hereditary risk of type I diabetes, detected at birth through tests on umbilical cord blood.
Infants with HLA-DR high-risk genotypes (DR3/4, DR4/4, DR4/8, and DR3/3) from the TEDDY group were prospectively followed with standardized autoantibody assessments quarterly throughout the first four years of life and then semiannually thereafter. The Lund University researchers reported that 6.5% of the participating children had their first autoantibody before the age of six. In 44% of cases, they only had an autoantibody against insulin (IAA). Most of them had this by the age of one to two years. In 38% of cases, GAD65 autoantibodies (GADA) were detected. The numbers increased until the age of two and then remained constant. In 14% of cases both autoantibodies were found at the same time, with a peak at the age of two to three.
The investigators concluded from the results that there were three ways to predict development of type I diabetes: 1) if the autoantibody first discovered attacked insulin (IAA); 2) if the first autoantibody targeted GAD65 (GADA), a protein inside the insulin-producing cells; or 3) if both autoantibodies were first found together.
"In the TEDDY study we have found that autoantibodies often appear during the first few years of life", said contributing author Dr. Åke Lernmark, professor of experimental diabetes at Lund University. "If a second autoantibody is detected later, then the person will get diabetes - but it may take up to 20 years. In TEDDY, 40% of these children had already developed diabetes. It is possible that there are two different diseases involved. Perhaps one virus triggers the autoantibodies against insulin and another one the autoantibodies against GAD65."
The study was published in the February 10, 2015, online edition of the journal Diabetologia.
Related Links:
Lund University
Investigators at Lund University (Sweden) recruited 8,503 participants in the TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) study to take part in their autoantibody experiment. The TEDDY study, funded by the [US] National Institutes of Health, involved 8,600 children from Sweden, the USA, Finland, and Germany, who showed an increased hereditary risk of type I diabetes, detected at birth through tests on umbilical cord blood.
Infants with HLA-DR high-risk genotypes (DR3/4, DR4/4, DR4/8, and DR3/3) from the TEDDY group were prospectively followed with standardized autoantibody assessments quarterly throughout the first four years of life and then semiannually thereafter. The Lund University researchers reported that 6.5% of the participating children had their first autoantibody before the age of six. In 44% of cases, they only had an autoantibody against insulin (IAA). Most of them had this by the age of one to two years. In 38% of cases, GAD65 autoantibodies (GADA) were detected. The numbers increased until the age of two and then remained constant. In 14% of cases both autoantibodies were found at the same time, with a peak at the age of two to three.
The investigators concluded from the results that there were three ways to predict development of type I diabetes: 1) if the autoantibody first discovered attacked insulin (IAA); 2) if the first autoantibody targeted GAD65 (GADA), a protein inside the insulin-producing cells; or 3) if both autoantibodies were first found together.
"In the TEDDY study we have found that autoantibodies often appear during the first few years of life", said contributing author Dr. Åke Lernmark, professor of experimental diabetes at Lund University. "If a second autoantibody is detected later, then the person will get diabetes - but it may take up to 20 years. In TEDDY, 40% of these children had already developed diabetes. It is possible that there are two different diseases involved. Perhaps one virus triggers the autoantibodies against insulin and another one the autoantibodies against GAD65."
The study was published in the February 10, 2015, online edition of the journal Diabetologia.
Related Links:
Lund University
Latest Clinical Chem. News
- New Blood Biomarker Predicts May Predict Preeclampsia and Fetal Growth Restriction
- Biomarker Score Helps Differentiate Takotsubo Syndrome from Myocardial Infarction
- New Biomarker Recommendations Aim to Personalize Stroke Rehabilitation
- Validated Biomarker Blood Test Detects Early Lung Cancer and Supports Risk Assessment
- Machine Learning Model Uses Routine Lab Tests to Support Heart Failure Classification
- NIH-Funded Study Targets Saliva-Based Long COVID Diagnosis
- Multiprotein Plasma Panel Identifies Remission in Vasculitis
- Rapid Urine Biomarker Panel Supports Better Kidney Transplant Decisions
- Blood Test Measures Amyloid Seeding Activity to Detect Alzheimer’s Disease
- FDA Clears Roche Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Amyloid Pathology Assessment
- Blood Test Markers Could Help Identify Older Adults at Risk of Disability
- Rapid Ferritin Test Enables Iron Deficiency Detection at the Point of Care
- Alzheimer’s Blood Test Becomes First FDA-Cleared Option for Adults as Young as 40
- Routine Urine Protein Testing Identifies Undiagnosed Chronic Kidney Disease
- Simple Whole-Blood Screen Identifies Elevated Bile Acids Linked to Liver Disease
- Longitudinal Heart Stress Assessment Improves Prediction of Cardiovascular Outcomes
Channels
Molecular Diagnostics
view channel
Automated System Streamlines DNA Recovery for MRD-Sensitive Testing
Molecular laboratories are under pressure to detect extremely low levels of residual disease, yet pre-analytical recovery of cell-free and genomic DNA from large-volume blood and plasma remains a persistent... Read more
New Liquid Biopsy Platform Uses Red Blood Cells to Detect Hidden Cancer Signals
Plasma-based liquid biopsy can miss clinically actionable tumor signals, particularly in early-stage disease and low-shedding tumors, limiting its utility for routine monitoring. Clinical laboratories... Read moreHematology
view channel
New Genetic Findings Reveal Cause of Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome
Inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS) impair the bone marrow’s ability to produce sufficient healthy blood cells and are associated with an increased risk of early-onset myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).... Read more
Ultra-Portable Device Enables Finger-Prick Blood Testing at Home
Patients who need frequent blood tests often face repeated clinic visits that burden services and disrupt care. In the UK, millions of tests are performed each year to diagnose disease, guide therapy,... Read moreImmunology
view channel
New Cellular Map May Help Predict Crohn’s Disease Course in Children
Crohn’s disease in children is a common and debilitating form of inflammatory bowel disease, marked by chronic intestinal inflammation and limited pediatric-specific treatments. Clinicians must decide... Read more
Temporal Immune Profiling Reveals How Sepsis States Change Over Time
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the immune response to infection becomes dysregulated, leading to rapid organ failure and death. Although antimicrobials and organ support remain standard... Read more
Study Identifies Immune Cells That Drive Harmful Autoantibody Responses in COVID-19
Autoantibodies that mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues have been linked to severe COVID-19, Long COVID, and increased risk of autoimmune disease. However, the origins of these autoantibodies during... Read moreMicrobiology
view channel
Gut Microbiome Classifier Improves Colorectal Cancer Risk Stratification
Colorectal cancer remains a leading cause of cancer mortality, and current noninvasive screening methods still miss many precancerous lesions. Clinicians therefore need tools that improve risk stratification... Read more
New Diagnostic Workflow Identifies Bloodstream Pathogens and Antibiotic Response in Hours
Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of infection that affects more than 1.5 million patients annually in the United States and contributes to roughly one in three in-hospital deaths.... Read morePathology
view channel
Label-Free Imaging Reveals Hidden Immune Activity in Blood Samples
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are widely used to monitor infection, autoimmunity, cancer, and treatment response, yet most assays depend on fluorescent labels that can perturb cells and provide... Read more
AI Tool Improves Prediction of Immunotherapy Response in Lung Cancer
Immune checkpoint therapies benefit only a subset of patients, while standard biomarkers often struggle to predict who will respond. Spatially resolved tumor profiling can provide deeper biological context,... Read moreTechnology
view channel
Bacterial Vesicle Expression System Streamlines Production of Cancer Diagnostic Proteins
Recombinant proteins are central to many cancer diagnostics and therapies, but numerous targets remain difficult and costly to produce because they are unstable, toxic to microbial hosts, or require precise folding.... Read more
Autonomous Robotic System Receives FDA Authorization for Blood Collection
Venipuncture is central to many diagnostic pathways, but routine blood collection can be affected by staffing constraints and procedural variability that influence consistency and patient experience.... Read moreIndustry
view channel
New NHS Partnership Expands Access to Epigenetic CNS Tumor Classifiers
Rapid and accurate classification of central nervous system tumors remains a challenge, particularly in children where histology alone can misclassify aggressiveness and drive overtreatment.... Read more







