Increased 125I-labelled concanavalin A binding to erythrocytes in diabetes mellitus.

Percentage binding of 125 I-labelled concanavalin A to erythrocytes in diabetic patients was significantly higher than that in normal subjects (12.2 +/- 2.8 versus 8.1 +/- 1.8%, mean +/- SD, p less than 0.001). Insulin-dependent diabetic patients showed significantly higher concanavalin A binding than non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects (15.0 +/- 1.4 versus 11.4 +/- 2.5%, p less than 0.01). There was a highly significant correlation between percentage binding of 125I-labelled concanavalin A and glycosylated haemoglobin.