Insulin antibodies in 104 children with diabetes mellitus

Binding capacity for porcine, bovine, and human insulin was estimated in 104 diabetic children using homologous systems of iodinated and noniodinated insulin. All patient sera bound porcine and bovine insulin whilst 11.5% did not bind human insulin. There was no clear correlation between duration of insulin treatment and binding capacity. However, some patients with only short duration of treatment had high capacity for porcine insulin. The binding capacity for human insulin was low in most patients. High insulin requirement was on average combined with high binding for bovine insulin. Cases of diabetes, which are difficult to control, treated with individual mixtures of porcine and bovine insulin, often showed high binding for porcine and also for human insuline. The value of estimations of insulin-binding capacity in diabetic children is debatable. However, the high incidence of antibodies seems to justify the use of low immunogenic (monocomponent) insulin preparations.