Diabetes mellitus is a disorder characterized by hyperglycemia in both the fasting and post-prandial states. The two most common forms of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2 (previously called juvenile-onset and adult-onset, respectively), comprise the vast majority of cases. Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) has been shown to be a disease characterized by immune-mediated destruction of the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas. The process of beta-cell destruction, recognized by production of autoantibodies to the beta-cell, occurs and lasts over many years and ultimately results in metabolic abnormalities with first manifested as impaired glucose tolerance and then progressing to symptomatic hyperglycemia.
The first antibodies described in association with the development of T1DM were islet cell autoantibodies (ICA). Subsequently, antibodies to insulin (IAA), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAA or GAD) and protein tyrosine phosphatase (IA2 or ICA512) have all been defined. The number of antibodies, rather than the individual antibody, is thought to be most predictive of progression to overt diabetes.