Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion does not provoke significant acute-phase response

Abstract

C-reactive protein (CRP), the classical acute-phase reactant, and serum amyloid A protein (SAA), the putative precursor of AA-type amyloid fibrils, were measured in 62 diabetic patients. They were all attending their regular clinic appointments and had been asymptomatic during the 2 wk preceding sampling. CRP and SAA levels were similar in 18 patients on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), 27 patients treated by conventional insulin therapy (CIT), nine treated by diet only, and eight treated by diet and oral hypoglycemic agents, and were almost entirely within the normal range. It is concluded that CSII does not provoke an acute-phase reaction in diabetic patients and, while caution should always be exercised with a new form of treatment, it does not seem likely that CSII will predispose to the development of reactive systemic amyloidosis.