TUESDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- A link appears to exist
between a herpes virus and an atypical form of type 2 diabetes in
persons from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new study.
Researchers in France, writing in the June 18 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association, noted a
possible tie between the presence of antibodies for the virus
human herpesvirus 8(HHV-8) and ketosis-prone type 2 diabetes
mellitus (DM-2). Ketosis occurs when ketone bodies, byproducts of
fat metabolism, build up in body tissues and fluids.
DM-2 has emerged as a common form of diabetes in African
populations since 1987, and from 30 percent to 60 percent of adults
in sub-Saharan Africa have markers of HHV-8 infection.
The study, which looked at 187 black African diabetics patients,
found HHV-8 antibodies in nearly 88 percent of those in the group
with ketosis-prone DM-2, while they were found in only 15 percent
of those with non-ketotic DM-2 and 40 percent of the control
participants.
"Our preliminary study shows a strong link between ketosis-prone
DM-2 phenotype and markers of HHV-8 infection," the authors wrote.
"Patients with ketosis-prone DM-2 have a very high prevalence of
HHV-8 infection, whereas patients with non-ketotic DM-2 have a much
lower prevalence of HHV-8 infection when compared with the
background population."
The authors called for more studies to try to replicate the
results in other populations and longitudinal studies to understand
the significance of the findings.
More information
The American Diabetes Association has more about
diabetes.
