Comparison of the prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) and gliadin antibodies (AGA) in a randomly selected adult estonian population.

We aimed to test the hypothesis that gluten might be associated with the development of islet cell autoimmunity. A random sample of 200 persons (87 males, mean age 42.4 years) from Estonia including one patient with type I diabetes mellitus was studied.

The follow-up of asymptomatic persons with antibodies to pyruvate dehydrogenase in adult population samples.

Purpose: The presence of antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA), the hallmark of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), precedes the clinical manifestation of the disease for many years. The main mitochondrial autoantigen is the E2 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). The aim of this study was to identify anti-PDC-positive persons from two Estonian populations by different methodologies and to follow up the positive cases.

A study of antimitochondrial antibodies in a random population in Estonia.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease characterized by the spontaneous destruction of the small intrahepatic bile ducts. The hallmark serologic feature of PBC is the presence of high-titer antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA). Both the incidence and prevalence of PBC varies geographically; epidemiological data may provide valuable insight regarding the pathogenic mechanisms and etiology of disease.

Association of Helicobacter pylori and gastric autoimmunity: a population-based study.

Based on clinical studies, a negative association between Helicobacter pylori and autoimmune corpus gastritis is described. In the present investigation of an unselected population of 1461 adults we can state, however, that there exists a relationship between H. pylori infection and the development of gastric corpus autoimmunity.