Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

About 60%-90% of type I (insulin-dependent) diabetics have antibody against islet cell cytoplasmic glycoprotein (“islet cell autoantibody”) at the time of diagnosis, and many of those initially without this antibody develop it later. This antibody disappears within 2 years after appearance in 85%-90% of type I diabetics. It has also been reported in about 20% […]

Autoantibodies present an interesting problem, both in their clinical manifestations and in the difficulty of laboratory detection and identification. They may be either the warm or cold type and may be complete or incomplete. Warm autoantibodies react at body temperature and are most often of the incomplete type. They comprise about 70% of autoantibodies. They […]

Before this subject is discussed, it is useful to give some definitions: Antigen: Any substance that causes formation of antibodies to it. The most common antigens are protein, but certain carbohydrate polysaccharides may act in a similar manner. Lipid may be combined with either. Each antigen has a certain chemical configuration that gives it antibody-provoking […]