A Patient with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Complicated with Slowly Progressive Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Wereport a case of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) complicated by slowly progressive insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (SPIDDM). A 67-year-old woman was diagnosed as having PBCbased on clinical manifestations and a positive result of anti-mitochondrial antibody.Furthermore, SPIDDM was diagnosed by her clinical course and a positive result of anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody. Both PBC and SPIDDMare considered to be autoimmune diseases. However, the coexistence of PBC and SPIDDM is extremely rare. Liver cirrhosis sometimes accompanies hyperglycemia. When the etiology of liver cirrhosis is an autoimmune disorder such as PBC, SPIDDMshould be considered as a cause of hyperglycemia. (Internal Medicine 42: 496-499, 2003)