Irum Dastagir, Rukhshan Khurshid.
Immune dysfunction in poorly controlled diabetic patients.
J Cardiovascular Dis Jan ;1(1-2):35-7.

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have infections more often than those without DM. The course of the infections is also more complicated in this patient group. One of the possible causes of this increased prevalence of infections is a defect in immunity. The course and consequences of the infection may be influenced by the immune system dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of chronic inflammation and specific immune responses, both humoral and cellular in patients with diabetes. Tests performed included total and differential leukocyte counts and serum immunoglobulins M in 50 poorly controlled diabetic subjects and 20 normal subjects (control) with no history of any disease. Increased level of TLC, PMN leukocytes, lymphocytes and eosinophils was observed but significant difference was only observed in case of PMN leukocytes, lymphocytes, when compared with cells of control subjects. The results of our study show a slightly altered non-specific immune response in poorly controlled diabetic patients. However further research is needed on large number of patients and also considering other immunoglobulins to reach a definite conclusion.

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