Abstract
The plasma adiponectin level has been reported to be increased in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T 1 DM), but the mechanism of the increase is unknown. We investigated the plasma adiponectin concentration of children with T 1 DM before (age : 9.4±1.7 yr ; mean±SEM, percentage overweight : -9.3±3.0%) and during insulin replacement therapy (11.2±2.0 yr, 3.7±1.9%), and of control children (10.4±1.6 yr, 0.33±4.4%). The plasma adiponectin levels of the untreated T 1 DM children (12.1±2.4 mg/l) and control children (12.6±1.3 mg/l) were similar. The adiponectin concentration of a 10-year-old girl with fulminant T 1 DM (type 1 B) was low, 5.6 mg/dl. The adiponectin level in T 1 DM significantly increased during insulin therapy (17.6±1.9 mg/l), and the average increase (during/before insulin therapy) was 1.8-fold. These results suggest that adiponectin secretion in children with T 1 DM is stimulated by insulin therapy, not by T 1 DM itself.
