[Natural immunity in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus]

Combined use of immunological (marking of different lymphocyte populations with monoclonal antibodies, their quantitation and isolation as a concentrate by flow cytometry) and cytological (electron microscopy and ultrastructural lymphocyte and monocyte cytochemistry) methodologies revealed a lowered non-specific immunity, particularly in the natural killer cells system and monocytic line cells, in the majority of diabetes mellitus patients. The revealed changes explain the increased susceptibility to and aggravated course of viral, bacterial, fungal, and certain malignant diseases in IDDM patients. In addition to insulin therapy, stimulation of natural immunity with immunomodulators is recommended for these patients.