Autoimmune diagnostics in diabetes mellitus.

Type 1 diabetes results from a specific destruction of the insulin-producing beta-cells of the pancreas. The disease is characterized by the appearance of specific autoantibodies against islet cell antigens. Autoantibodies to insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, tyrosine phosphatase IA-2 and cytoplasmic islet cell antibodies are useful markers for the differential diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when clinical and metabolic criteria alone do not allow definite classification. Autoimmune diagnostics is of particular importance in adults to discriminate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and to assess the diagnosis of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.