Study of some serum protein fractions in various clinical forms of diabetes mellitus

With a view to studying the eventual alterations of protein metabolism, some serum protein fractions such as: immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM), transferrin and ceruloplasmin were determined in 100 diabetics (52 males, 48 females) in comparison with a control group of 26 healthy subjects. Significant differences were found between IgA and transferrin values both in diabetics and in controls. IgA tended to increase with the length of disease, whereas IgG, IgM and transferrin showed a contrary trend. IgA and transferrin values were higher in the patients with juvenile and young adult diabetes, as compared to maturity onset and senile diabetes. Other immunoglobulin and transferrin changes were related to sex, age, type of treatment, degree of stability, presence of chronic complications. No significant anomalies were found for ceruloplasmin. The results confirm the presence of serum protein alterations in diabetes mellitus, whose significance may be correlated with the clinical particularities of the disease.