Strong Link Found Between Enterovirus and Type 1 Diabetes
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Enterovirus infection appears to be strongly linked to both type 1 diabetes and islet cell autoantibodies, new research suggests. The strength of the relationship, particularly within the first month of type 1 diabetes diagnosis, "further supports the rationale for development of enterovirus-targeted vaccines and antiviral therapy to prevent and reduce the impact of type 1 diabetes," according to lead investigator Sonia Isaacs, MD, of the department of pediatrics and child health at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Enteroviruses are a large family of viruses responsible for many infections in children. These live in the intestinal tract but can cause a wide variety of illnesses. There are more than 70 different strains, which include the group A and group B coxsackieviruses, the polioviruses, hepatitis A virus, and several strains that just go by the name enterovirus.
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@iraban The new meta-analysis is an update to a prior review published in 2011 by Isaacs' group, which found that people with islet cell autoimmunity were more than four times as likely as controls to have an enterovirus infection, and people with type 1 diabetes almost 10 times as likely.