Immunological Insulin Resistance Due to Insulin Antibodies Developed After Cessation of Insulin Therapy in a Patient With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

While insulin antibodies reportedly exist in about half of patients with type 2 diabetes who inject insulin, these antibodies do not often severely affect blood glucose levels (1). Here, we report a patient who had insulin antibodies against human insulin and developed insulin resistance after episodes of frequent hypoglycemic attacks, even though insulin therapy had been discontinued. A 68-year-old Japanese male was referred to our hospital because of hyperglycemia in October 2003. He weighed 89 kg, and his height was 171 cm. His levels of fasting plasma glucose, A1C, and urine C-peptide immunoreactivity were 313 mg/dl, 10.6%, and 38.7 μg/day, respectively. Anti-GAD antibody …