Pupillary Abnormalities in Type I Diabetes Occurring During Adolescence: Comparisons with cardiovascular reflexes

1. Autonomic abnormalities are frequent in adult patients with diabetes mellitus and progress slowly; little is known about frequency and progression of autonomic abnormalities in childhood. 2. To assess whether autonomic abnormalities are already present in childhood, we evaluated the cardiovascular reflexes, the spectral analysis of spontaneous fluctuations in RR interval and blood pressure (low- and high-frequency), and the baroreflex sensitivity at rest, and after vagal (controlled breathing) and sympathetic activation (tilting) in 25 adolescents with Type I diabetes mellitus, aged 10–17 years, at baseline and after 18 months follow-up, and in 20 age- and sex-matched controls. 3. Cardiovascular reflexes were similar in both patients and controls. Similar significant changes in percentage low- and high-frequency (P < 0.005) from rest to tilting and to control breathing were observed in both patients and controls. The baroreflex sensitivity was also similar in patients and controls. Mild and non-systematic correlations were observed between autonomic tests and disease duration or metabolic control. After 18 months follow-up no changes were observed in any of the measured variables. Correlations with metabolic control remained unchanged. 4. These results indicate a substantial stability of cardiovascular autonomic function in childhood diabetes, and suggest that autonomic abnormalities are likely to develop at an older age.

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Electron microscopy analysis of degenerating pancreatic ß cells in transgenic mice expressing the MHC Class I antigen Dd

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100160297 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 548-549

Author(s):

T. A. Stewart ◽

D. Liggitt ◽

S. Pitts ◽

L. Martin ◽

M. Siegel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Type I Diabetes ◽

Disease Process ◽

Class Ii ◽

Class I ◽

Type I ◽

Aberrant Expression ◽

Mhc Molecules ◽

Endogenous Insulin ◽

Class Ii Mhc ◽

Ifn Γ

Insulin-dependant (Type I) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a metabolic disorder resulting from the lack of endogenous insulin secretion. The disease is thought to result from the autoimmune mediated destruction of the insulin producing ß cells within the islets of Langerhans. The disease process is probably triggered by environmental agents, e.g. virus or chemical toxins on a background of genetic susceptibility associated with particular alleles within the major histocompatiblity complex (MHC). The relation between IDDM and the MHC locus has been reinforced by the demonstration of both class I and class II MHC proteins on the surface of ß cells from newly diagnosed patients as well as mounting evidence that IDDM has an autoimmune pathogenesis. In 1984, a series of observations were used to advance a hypothesis, in which it was suggested that aberrant expression of class II MHC molecules, perhaps induced by gamma-interferon (IFN γ) could present self antigens and initiate an autoimmune disease. We have tested some aspects of this model and demonstrated that expression of IFN γ by pancreatic ß cells can initiate an inflammatory destruction of both the islets and pancreas and does lead to IDDM.

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