title: Decreased prevalence of lymphatic filariasis among diabetic subjects associated with a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response (CURES 83).
abstract: Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse correlation between the incidence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and the incidence of allergies and autoimmunity. However, the interrelationship between LF and type-2 diabetes is not known and hence, a cross sectional study to assess the baseline prevalence and the correlates of sero-positivity of LF among diabetic subjects was carried out (n = 1416) as part of the CURES study. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of LF among diabetic subjects (both newly diagnosed [5.7%] and those under treatment [4.3%]) compared to pre-diabetic subjects [9.1%] (p = 0.0095) and non-diabetic subjects [10.4%] (p = 0.0463). A significant decrease in filarial antigen load (p = 0.04) was also seen among diabetic subjects. Serum cytokine levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines-IL-6 and GM-CSF-were significantly lower in diabetic subjects who were LF positive, compared to those who were LF negative. There were, however, no significant differences in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines-IL-10, IL-13 and TGF-beta-between the two groups. Although a direct causal link has yet to be shown, there appears to be a striking inverse relationship between the prevalence of LF and diabetes, which is reflected by a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response in Asian Indians with diabetes and concomitant LF.
authors.affiliation: Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, India. cvaravindhan@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Vivekanandhan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aravindhan
authors.forename: Viswanathan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: Jayagopi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Surendar
authors.forename: Maradana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muralidhara Rao
authors.forename: Nathella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavankumar
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deepa
authors.forename: Ramanujam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rajagopalan
authors.forename: Vasanthapuram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumaraswami
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Nutman
authors.forename: Subash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Babu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines