Oxidative stress and interleukin-6 secretion during the progression of type 1 diabetes

To evaluate inflammatory, oxidizing, and reducing responses during the progression of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in patients without chronic complications.

Plasma antioxidant status, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured in 42 patients with T1DM and in 24 healthy subjects.

Significant increases were detected in the median values of ROS and IL-6 in patients with T1DM compared with healthy subjects (ROS ~ 4,836 vs. 2,036 RLU/min, respectively; P < .05: IL-6 ~ 14.2 vs. 9.7 pg/mL, respectively; P = .002). No significant between-group differences (P > 0.05) were observed in oxidizing responses or in IL-6 concentrations when diabetic patients were grouped according to time after diagnosis (0 - 10, 10 - 20 and > 20 years). Plasma antioxidant responses were similar in patients with T1DM and in healthy subjects.

Our results demonstrate that oxidizing and inflammatory responses are increased at the onset of T1DM, but remain unchanged during disease progression. These findings suggest that functional changes involved in diabetic complications may commence in the first years after diagnosis.