This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.
The specific aims of the study are to: (1) prospectively evaluate adrenal function in patients with type 1 diabetes, or other autoimmune disorders and their relatives, found to express 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies and (2) correlate histocompatibility complex human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and additional immunogenetic determinants with progression to Addison's disease. Addison's disease is a rare autoimmune disorder (<1/20,000), which is readily treated with glucocorticoid replacement, but a disorder which is so rare that not infrequently patients are diagnosed only after life threatening, or life ending adrenal crisis. Recognizing the association of Addison's disease with type 1 diabetes and the availability of a new autoantibody assay for anti-adrenal antibodies, we have screened approximately 1,000 patients with type 1 diabetes for the expression of 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies. To date, investigators have found more than 15 individuals with 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies without a known diagnosis of Addison's disease. Three of these individuals have now been diagnosed with overt Addison's disease, while the remainder do not have a major abnormality of adrenal function, but have not been studied with tests likely to detect subclinical abnormalities (plasma renin activity). At the same, time we have discovered a strong association of Addison's disease with a specific HLA allele, DRB1*0404, and in particular suggestive data, that progression to Addison's disease amongst patients with 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies is dependent upon this DRB1 histocompatibility marker. The present proposal is designed to better define adrenal function of patients with and without DRB1*0404, who express 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies, and importantly will provide prospective information.
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