Test for Type 1 Diabetes Antibodies
Healthful Vitality | 09/10/2021 | By NP Team | Test for Type 1 Diabetes Antibodies
Although there are many types of diabetes, two types are more prominent: type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2). Most people living with diabetes are living with one of this diabetes.
People knew for ages that there are two distinct types of diabetes. They knew the difference between the clinical presentations. However, they did not understand what is going inside the body that makes them different.
Early researchers, philosophers (like ancient Greeks or Indians) described that there is diabetes of young and lean (T1D) and diabetes of obese individuals (T2D).
Researchers started calling them insulin-dependent (T1D) and non-insulin-dependent (T2D) with the discovery of insulin. However, now researchers understand the difference between two sub-types and simply call them Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Two distinct types of diabetes
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are quite different, requiring different diagnostic approaches and treatment.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. A condition when an immune system of an individual starts killing insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. Thus, there is an insulin deficiency. Such diabetes begins at an early age, onset is often acute, a person is rarely obese, it is pretty severe, and insulin therapy is its prime treatment.
Type 2 diabetes is quite different. It develops gradually. Moreover, it is more commonly diagnosed after the age of 30 and is strongly related to obesity. It is caused due to insulin resistance, a condition when body cells stop reacting to the insulin. Initially, people with this diabetes have normal or even high insulin levels. But ultimately, they also develop insulin deficiency due to the death of insulin cells caused by exhaustion.
Studies show that 5-10% of all people living with diabetes have type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes antibodies test
There are numerous reasons why early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is necessary. First, it is much more severe than Type 2. It often starts abruptly. In many cases, if insulin therapy is delayed, it may result in fatal outcomes.
Studies show that almost one-this of all diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are children or adolescents with DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) as its first manifestation. DKA is a very severe condition that may cause coma and even death. Therefore, it only highlights the importance of early diagnosis.
Type 1 diabetes antibodies test may help with early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and may also help in the differential diagnosis.
The full name of the test is the Islet Autoantibody test. It is one of the most reliable ways of early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
Islet autoantibody test may be done under three circumstances/stages:
- Stage 1 T1D: These are individuals with normal blood sugar and no clinical signs. However, they are high-risk individuals due to a family history of T1D.
- Stage 2 T1D: A person still has no clinical signs but has metabolic abnormalities with high glucose levels.
- Stage 3 T1D: It is a person with high blood glucose levels and clear clinical presentation of diabetes. In this stage, it helps confirm the diagnosis or help with differential diagnosis.
Finally, it is also worth knowing that there are other antibody tests like a Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Autoantibodies test (GAD antibodies test). GAD may help confirm the T1D diagnosis in 75% of cases. It also helps differentiate T1D from Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood (LADA).
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