Neutralizing antibodies against Coxsackie B viruses in patients with recent onset of type I diabetes.

In a search for Coxsackie B virus-induced, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) we examined sera from 166 selected patients (age 1-17 years) with recent onset of IDDM for specific neutralizing antibodies. All 166 patients investigated had a clinical history of recent infectious illness. Eighty per cent of the patients had antibodies against at least one Coxsackie B virus type. But even among the children studied with antibody titers higher than 256 only in about 44% could a recent Coxsackie B virus infection be serologically demonstrated by determining specific neutralizing IgM antibodies. This result again strengthens the notion that IDDM includes several different etiologic groups, among others possibly Coxsackie B virus infections.