Islet cell auto-antibodies in chronic active hepatitis, a new approach for carbohydrate metabolic disorder in autoimmune liver disease

ABSTRACT

This study was done on 30 patients with chronic liver disease, the diagnosis was based on serum enzymes; liver function tests, serum immunoglobulin level and histopathological examination of liver biopsy taken from each, for the final diagnosis, HBsAg was searched for in the sera of all patients. Blood sugar level was estimated at different stages [Fasting], 1 hour, and 2 hours, after oral glucose load. Search for islet cell auto-antibodies was done for each patient using indirect immuno-fluorescent teachnique. The study came up with an important, which is the presence of islet cell auto-antibodies in 73.3% of sera of chronic active hepatitis patients of both IgG and IgD class, the latter was for the first time to be reported. The presence of 73.3% positive auto-antibodies sera, could explain few data which were found in this study and in previous study, on the basis of an injurious immune reaction for the islet cells, resulting in hyper-insulinaemia, hyperglucagonaemia, and hypersomatostatinaemia. These result in a disturbance in carbohydrate metabolism, which is sometimes found in chronic autoimmune liver disease