Medical expert of the article
New publications
Autoantibodies to islet cell antigens in blood
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Detection of autoantibodies to islet cell antigens has the greatest prognostic value in the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus. They appear 1-8 years before the clinical manifestation of the disease. Their detection allows the clinician to diagnose prediabetes, select a diet and conduct immunocorrective therapy. Conducting such therapy plays an extremely important role, since clinical symptoms of insulin deficiency in the form of hyperglycemia and related complaints appear when 80-90% of insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas are affected, and the possibilities of conducting immunocorrective therapy during this period of the disease are limited. The high level of autoantibodies to islet cell antigens in the preclinical period and at the onset of the disease gradually decreases over several years, until complete disappearance. The use of immunosuppressants in treatment also leads to a decrease in the content of autoantibodies in the blood.
Determination of the concentration of autoantibodies to islet cell antigens and insulin in the blood can be used to assess the risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus over the next 5 years in first-degree relatives of the patient. In the case of the presence of autoantibodies to islet cell antigens of more than 20 units, the risk increases almost 8 times and is 37%, with a combination of autoantibodies to islet cell antigens and insulin, it reaches 50%.
[