The Diabetes-Arthritis Connection
Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, as is RA. In people who have type 1 diabetes, the body attacks the pancreas, the organ where insulin is made, just as RA attacks the synovial tissue lining the joints. Inflammation is the common culprit.
Levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which often are high in people with RA, also are increased in those with type 1 diabetes. A study of people who had type 1 diabetes for longer than five years shows an increase in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), another inflammatory marker often elevated in people with inflammatory forms of arthritis. Inhibiting TNF-a with drugs such as adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab (Remicade) is the goal of treating arthritis and related conditions.
As scientists learn more about the roots of inflammation, some treatments for inflammatory arthritis may wind up helping to control other inflammation-related conditions. Researchers already are testing the possibilities.
Reducing inflammation with Remicade improved insulin sensitivity in people who had inflammatory diseases and were insulin resistant, according to a small study published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. And in a study of 70 people who had type 2 diabetes, the arthritis drug anakinra (Kineret) brought down the glucose level, improved function of the pancreas and decreased levels of CRP and IL-6.
