- Title
- Immunisation and type 1 diabetes mellitus: is there a link?
- Author
- Hiltunen M; Lönnrot M; Hyöty H
- Address
- Department of Virology, University of Tampere, Medical School, and Tampere University
Hospital, Finland.
- Source
- Drug Saf, 1999 Mar, 20:3, 207-12
- Abstract
- Recent evidence from animal studies has raised the possibility that immunisation by
vaccines can influence the pathogenesis of type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus.
In non-obese diabetic mice and biobreeding rats, complete Freund's adjuvant and bacillus
Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine have successfully been used to interrupt the development of
diabetes mellitus. This effect is probably mediated by nonspecific suppression of the
autoimmune process. A number of attempts have also been made to assess the impact of
parenteral immunisation on type 1 diabetes mellitus in humans. Epidemiological evidence
has not indicated any clear link between BCG vaccination and the development of diabetes
mellitus in humans. Some reports have suggested that natural mumps or mumps vaccinations
can induce islet cell autoimmunity, but there is no evidence that mumps-measles-rubella
mass vaccination programmes have changed the incidence of diabetes mellitus in any
population. An independent protective role of measles virus has been suggested in one
study. Recent studies have indicated that enterovirus infections may induce beta cell
autoimmunity and clinical diabetes. The only currently available enterovirus vaccine is
the poliovirus vaccine which, in theory, could modulate the protection against other
enteroviruses by inducing cross-reactive T cell immune responses; however, this hypothesis
has not been tested so far. In conclusion, there is no clear evidence that any
currently used vaccine can prevent or induce diabetes in humans. However, only a
few studies are available on the subject and therefore the possibility of a link between
vaccination and diabetes mellitus cannot be excluded.
- Language of Publication
- English
- Unique Identifier
- 99237039
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