%0 Journal Article
%T Decreased Prevalence of Lymphatic Filariasis among Diabetic Subjects Associated with a Diminished Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Response (CURES 83)
%A Vivekanandhan Aravindhan
%A Viswanathan Mohan
%A Jayagopi Surendar
%A Maradana Muralidhara Rao
%A Nathella Pavankumar
%A Mohan Deepa
%A Ramanujam Rajagopalan
%A Vasanthapuram Kumaraswami
%A Thomas B. Nutman
%A Subash Babu
%J PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
%D 2010
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000707
%X Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse correlation between the incidence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and the incidence of allergies and autoimmunity. However, the interrelationship between LF and type-2 diabetes is not known and hence, a cross sectional study to assess the baseline prevalence and the correlates of sero-positivity of LF among diabetic subjects was carried out (n = 1416) as part of the CURES study. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of LF among diabetic subjects (both newly diagnosed [5.7%] and those under treatment [4.3%]) compared to pre-diabetic subjects [9.1%] (p = 0.0095) and non-diabetic subjects [10.4%] (p = 0.0463). A significant decrease in filarial antigen load (p = 0.04) was also seen among diabetic subjects. Serum cytokine levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines¡ªIL-6 and GM-CSF¡ªwere significantly lower in diabetic subjects who were LF positive, compared to those who were LF negative. There were, however, no significant differences in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines¡ªIL-10, IL-13 and TGF-¦Â¡ªbetween the two groups. Although a direct causal link has yet to be shown, there appears to be a striking inverse relationship between the prevalence of LF and diabetes, which is reflected by a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response in Asian Indians with diabetes and concomitant LF.
%U http://www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0000707