Role of Islet Cell Antibodies in the Pathophysiology of Diabetes in HCV Infected Patients

Diabetes is frequently found in patients with chronic HCV infection even before the development of advanced liver disease. The underlying mechanism responsible for derangements in glucose tolerance is poorly understood. Aim of Study: To detect the presence of antiislet cell antibodies in hepatitis C virus infected patients and also measure insulin resistance in them, which are highly predictive for the development of type 2 DM and which may occur years before the development of manifest diabetes.Patients and Methods: This study was conducted on 80 chronic hepatitis C patients, excluding patients co-infected with hepatitis B and patients with type 1 diabetes. All patients subjected to full clnical examination, routine chemical labs, abdominal ultrasound, child classification, islet antibodies testing, fasting insulin and HOMA-R calculation. Results: This study showed very low prevalence of islet cell antibodies in HCV infected patients (3.74%, 3 out of 80), with no correlation between these antibodies and diabetes or insulin resistance. On the contrary insulin resistance had a very high prevalence among the patients (HOMA-R 2.5, in 80%). Insulin resistance was significantly correlated to advanced age, male sex, and presence of liver cirrhosis. A significant negative correlation was also detected between mean value of insulin resistance and serum creatinine values. Conclusions: Islet cell antibodies does not appear to paly a significant role in the pathophysiology of diabetes in HCV infected patients.