[Simultaneous onset of rheumatoid polyarthritis and type 1 diabetes].
BACKGROUND
Rheumatoid arthritis and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus are both autoimmune disorders of unknown etiology. We report the case of a patient who developed the two diseases simultaneously.


METHODS
A 64-year-old man with no remarkable medical history developed insulin-dependent diabetes disclosed by ketoacidosis that occurred 3 weeks after onset of a bilateral symmetrical polyarthritic syndrome characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis.


CONCLUSIONS
These two disorders share common susceptibility of subjects with MHC class II molecules HLA DRB1*04. Immunological studies have also shown a common Th1 type cytokine-secretion pattern in both diseases. Epidemiological studies have not however clearly demonstrated a link between them.
Allanore
Y
Y
Service de Rhumatologie, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris.
Le Gars
L
L
Duron
F
F
Christin-Maître
S
S
Kaplan
G
G
Berenbaum
F
F
D000483:Alleles; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology
D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II