RESUMO
Background & objectives: There has been a rise in the incidence of diabetes mellitus in the younger population of India. There are limited data available on the immunological profile of youth onset diabetes mellitus (DM) especially in type 2. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical and immunological profile of youth onset DM in north India. Methods: Fifty one consecutive patients of 8-35 yr of age with diabetes mellitus attending the Lok Nayak Hospital, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, and Hormone Care and Research Center at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, were included in the study. All subjects were tested for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), an islet cell antigen ICA512/IA2, and insulin antibodies. GAD and ICA512/IA2 were done by ELISA and insulin autoantibodies were tested by radioimmunoassay (RIA) method. These patients were also screened for hepatitis A to E, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as trigger factors for onset of type 1 DM. Results: of the total 51 patients, 38 were men and 13 were women. The mean age and BMI of the subjects was 19.7 (±7) years and 21 (± 5) kg/m2, respectively. Twenty patients were below the age of 18 yr and their height was more than 75th percentile of Indian standards. All patients were symptomatic and 12 of these presented with ketoacidosis. only 48 per cent (n=24) were positive for GAD, 14 per cent (n=7) for ICA512/IA-2, and 28% (n=14) were positive for insulin antibody. Five of these patients had evidence of hepatitis E virus infection. None of the subjects had evidence of active CMV or EBV infection. Interpretation & conclusions: About half of the youth onset diabetes mellitus patients from north India had presence of pancreatic autoimmunity in the form of GAD, ICA512/IA2, and insulin antibodies or a combination of antibodies suggestive of having type 1 DM. Further studies need to be done on a large sample size in different parts of the country.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: A major outbreak of epidemic dropsy occurred in Delhi, India, in August-September 1998, due to the consumption of contaminated mustard oil. METHODS: The clinical data of 212 adult patients of epidemic dropsy who presented to our hospital is analysed. RESULTS: Pitting pedal oedema (100%), skin erythema (75%), limb tenderness (63%), diarrhea (51%) and hepatomegaly (34%) were the prominent clinical manifestations observed in the patients. Superficial retinal haemorrhages and retinal venous dilatation was observed on fundus examination and 9% of patients developed an open angle glaucoma over a three month follow up period. Cardiac failure was present in 14% of patients. Most patients had mild disease which responded to cessation of mustard oil consumption, bed rest, diuretics and antioxidants. There were six deaths, all of whom had intractable cardiac failure. A unique feature of this outbreak was the documentation of acute renal failure in three patients, a phenomenon never described previously. CONCLUSIONS: Strict law enforcement to prevent the contamination of edible oils is essential to avoid the occurrence of future similar outbreaks.