Anti Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 65 in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a complex, chronic illness requiring continuous medical care with multifactorial risk-reduction strategies beyond glycemic control. In the US, type 2 diabetes represents the majority of the diabetic population with a prevalence of 95%. About 86 million people are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.In type 2 diabetic patients, positivity for glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies, as well as autoantibodies to other islet cell antigens, correlates with some of the phenotypic features consistent with those of type 1 diabetes, such as younger age at diagnosis, lower body mass index, and loss of B-cell function. This form of the disease with initial type 2-like diabetes presentation and with serological evidence of islet cell autoimmunity has been termed latent autoimmune diabetes, or type 1.5 diabetes, and has been associated with progressive decline in B-cell function and future insulin requirement in some population. The current study included 100 patients with type 2 diabetes of more than 5 years duration aged above 40 years old. The patients were assigned to insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs. The study aimed to assess anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase level in type 2 Egyptian diabetic patients, and whether it could be used as a marker for