Abstract
We determined the clinical characteristics of adult-onset NIDDM patients positive for antiglutamic acid decarboxylase antibody (GAD-Ab). The subjects were 40 patients who were diagnosed after the age of 20 years without ketosis at the onset, who required insulin therapy and were positive for GAD for 7 years of follow-up. The mean age at the time of the study was 53 years and the duration of diabetes was 7 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 20. 7. The controls were 18 adult-onset GAD-Ab-negative NIDDM patients who were matched for gender, age at the time of the study, disease duration and BMI. The mean duration from the onsetof diabetes to insulin therapy was 1. 6 years in the GAD-Ab-positive group and 3. 3 years in the negative group. The incidence a history of obesity was 22.5% inthe positive group and 16% in the negative group, and the incidence of a BMI over 22 was 30% in the positive group and 38% in the negative group. The GAD-positive group showed greater ICA and/or ICA 512 prevalence than the negative group. DR 4 and/or DR 9 were not significantly different in the two groups, while A 24 in the GAD-Ab positive group was 36%(0% in the GAD-Ab-negative group). Adult-onset GAD positive diabetes may cause autoimmune-pancreatic β-cell destruction.
