Anterior uveitis and diabetes mellitus: immunological study

The association between anterior uveitis (AU) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has always been known. The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of this association and to consider a possible role of the cell-mediated immune system. During the years 1989-1992, 196 diabetics (66 patients affected by type I DM and 130 by type II DM) were studied. The study of the lymphocytic subsets and the measurement of the circulating immunocomplexes and autoantibodies (ANA, AMA, ADNA, ASMA, APCA) were carried out, and the results were compared with those of a control group. The results underline the correlation between AU and type I DM. Many immunological reactions could play a crucial role: the high levels of CD8 subsets found could be an expression of the unstable lymphocytic equilibrium.