title: Autoantibodies, human T lymphotropic virus type 1 and type 1 diabetes mellitus in Jamaicans.
abstract: The clinical characteristics, autoantibody profiles and seroprevalence of human T lymphotropic virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) were assessed in 30 Jamaican patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Two hundred and fifty-two blood donors and 108 patients with Graves' disease were included as controls for the HTLV-1 component of the study. The mean age of onset of diabetes mellitus was 20.5 +/- 9.2 years and the mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 10.5 +/- 6.1 years. The remarkable clinical data included an absence of other associated organ-specific autoimmune diseases, and clinical evidence and history of congenital rubella in one patient. Islet cell cytoplasmic antibodies (ICA) were absent but 17% (5/30) of the diabetic patients tested positive for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies. No other organ-specific autoantibodies were detected but non-organ-specific autoantibodies were present in 9 (30%) of the sera of diabetic patients. The seroprevalence of HTLV-1 in the patients with diabetes mellitus was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls (17% (5/30) versus 4% (11/252), p = 0.05). Autoantibodies were found in the sera of 4/5 (80%) of the diabetic patients who were positive for HTLV-1. None of the patients with onset of diabetes mellitus below age 15 years was HTLV-1 positive. The likely polyaetiological nature of Type 1 diabetes mellitus in Jamaicans is being further investigated at the molecular level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Medicine and Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Smikle
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wright-Pascoe
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dowe
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Choo-Kang
authors.forename: O St C
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007563:Jamaica; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000150:complications; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies