Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aims: High prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with viral hepatites is observed. Trigger role of HBV and HCV infection in development of autoimmune reactions in diabetic patients is discussed. The goal was to study influence of hepatotropic viruses (HBV and HCV) on development of autoimmune processes to pancreatic β-cells.

Materials and methods: patients with type 2 DM (41 male, 132 female, middle age 57.5±0.8 year, average diabetes duration 8.55±0.53 years) were surveyed. Patients were distributed into five groups: first group (n=7) – diabetic patients with HBV infection in replicative phase; second (n=68) – HBV infected in nonreplicative phase; third (n=23) – HCV infected in replicative phase; fourth (n=13) – HCV infected in nonreplicative phase; fifth (n=62) – noninfected type 2 diabetic patients. Markers of a viral hepatites B and C, glutamic acid decarboxilase antibodies (GADA) and islet cells antibodies (ICA) were studied by immune-enzyme assay, viral DNA and RNA – by polymerase chain reaction.

Results: GADA was revealed more often in HBV and HCV infected type 2 DM patients in comparison with noninfected: in group 1–57.1%, P=0.007; in 2–36.7%, P=0.003; in 3–34.8%, P=0.003; in 4–53.9%, P=0.01 vs group 5–9.7% (chi-square test). ICA in infected patients also met more often, than in noninfected: in group 1–28.6%, P=0.019; in 2–29.4%, P<0.001; in 3–17.4%, P=0.026, in 4–15.4%, P=0.15 vs group 5–1.6% (chi-square test). GADA and ICA revealing frequency did not depend on a virus replication. In 13.5% HBV- and HCV-infected patients both kinds of antibodies were determined. In noninfected patients simultaneously ICA and GADA didn’t revealed.

Conclusion: In type 2 diabetic HBV and HCV infected patients antibodies to pancreatic β-cells are found out statistically significantly more often, than in noninfected DM patients.