[Leucocyte migration inhibition test in diabetes mellitus (author's transl)].

The leucocyte migration inhibition test (LMT) using the agarose plate method introduced by Clausen is simple and highly reproducible. Using human pancreas extract and beef insulin as antigen, LMT was performed on ten patients with insulin dependent diabetes, twenty patients with insulin independent diabetes, and twelve healthy controls. The migration index was expressed as a percentage of migration calculated from the following formula. Migration index (MI) = average areas of migration in test suspension/average areas of migration in control suspension. Using human pancreas extract, the mean migration index for the insulin dependent diabetics (87.6 +/- 11.1) was significantly lower than in the normal subjects (99.3 +/- 6.3) (p less than 0.05). Using beef insulin as antigen for the insulin dependent diabetics and insulin independent diabetics, the mean migration indices (+/- SD) were 95.8 +/- 14.9 and 98.7 +/- 12.3 respectively. The corresponding values for the control group were 98.9 +/- 7.8. Cellular hypersensitivity to human pancreas extract was shown in the leucocyte migration inhibition test with insulin dependent diabetics, but a negative result was obtained with beef insulin.