Publications by authors named "A Knopff"

Background: Autoimmune diseases are often preceded by an asymptomatic autoantibody-positive phase. In type 1 diabetes, the detection of autoantibodies to pancreatic islet antigens in genetically at-risk children is prognostic for future clinical diabetes. Testing for islet autoantibodies is, therefore, performed in a range of clinical studies.

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Objective: Autoimmune diseases can be diagnosed early through the detection of autoantibodies. The aim of this study was to determine the risk of organ-specific autoimmunity in individuals with a family history of type 1 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: The study cohort included 2,441 first-degree relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes who were prospectively followed from birth to a maximum of 29.

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Aims/hypothesis: Vaccinations in early childhood potentially stimulate the immune system and may thus be relevant for the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). We determined the association of vaccination burden with T1D-associated islet autoimmunity in children with high familial risk followed prospectively from birth.

Methods: A total of 20,570 certified vaccination records from 1918 children were correlated with time to onset of T1D-associated islet autoimmunity using Cox regression, considering multiple time periods up until age two years and vaccination types, and adjusting for HLA genotype, sex, delivery mode, season of birth, preterm delivery and maternal T1D status.

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Aims/hypothesis: Progression to type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents is not uniform. Based on individual genetic background and environment, islet autoimmunity may develop at variable age, exhibit different autoantibody profiles and progress to clinical diabetes at variable rates. Here, we aimed to quantify the qualitative dynamics of sequential islet autoantibody profiles in order to identify longitudinal patterns that stratify progression rates to type 1 diabetes in multiple-autoantibody-positive children.

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Immune tolerance is executed partly by Foxp3(+)regulatory T (Treg) cells, which suppress autoreactive T cells. In autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) impaired tolerance promotes destruction of insulin-producing β-cells. The development of autoantigen-specific vaccination strategies for Foxp3(+)Treg-induction and prevention of islet autoimmunity in patients is still in its infancy.

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