Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Increased frequencies of thyroid diseases and thyroid microsomal antibodies have been observed in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. However, the exact prevalence of thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins has not been established. In the present study these antibodies were measured by both a radioreceptor and an adenylate-cyclase stimulation assay. In forty-six patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus without endogeneous insulin production (C-peptide concentration less than or equal to 0.06 nmol 1(-1)) the receptor assay was positive in ten and the stimulation assay in fifteen patients. The immunoglobulins of four patients inhibited the adenylate cyclase, and one of these was positive in the receptor assay. In nine patients with post-prandial C-peptide 0.07-0.19 nmol 1(-1), five had adenylate-cyclase-stimulating antibodies, while none were positive in the receptor assay. Thyroid hormones and thyrotropin concentrations were not different in the forty-six patients without endogenous insulin production with thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins compared with patients without these antibodies. Patients with thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins required a daily median amount of 0.71 IE of insulin kg-1 compared to median of 0.57 IE kg-1 in patients without these antibodies (P less than 0.03), despite a similar degree of diabetic regulation. The level of tri-iodothyronine was correlated to the antibody level in patients with adenylate-cyclase-stimulating antibodies. While the prognostic and possibly pathogenetic importance of these antibodies in Graves' disease have been established, their significance in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus remains to be demonstrated.