Study of islet cell antibodies as predictive marker of type 1 diabetes

The aim of this study was to evidence whether islet cell antibodies (ICAs) (by a standard indirect immunofluorescent technique) could be used to identify subjects at risk for type-1 diabetes. In the present prospective diabetes family study, 23 of 2642 first-degree relatives of patients with type-1 diabetes have developed the disease. The antibody status of these 23 samples was compared with that from 23 carefully matched control. At a mean of 26 years before the onset of diabetes, ICAs were found in 16 patients at the titer 1:60 (versus O control subjects, p < 0.001). The authors consider that ICAs may be interpreted as an immunological change in the islets of first-degree relatives of patients with type-1 diabetes.