If you've ever wondered why diabetics are particularly susceptible to persistent infections and health complications following relatively mild infections, the answer may be at hand. Researchers working at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Canada, have just published a study on the topic in Clinical Immunology. They found that diabetics have compromised immune systems resulting from problems with their dendritic cells. Dendritic cells (see image) regulate the body's T-cells, which fight infection. The study, which looked at both people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, showed that the dendritic cells of diabetics are poor producers of an anti-viral agent that is important in activating T-cells. Without enough of that agent, T-cells can't do their job fighting infection.

The immediate lesson to be learned, says Dr. Bhagirath Singh, lead author of the study, is that strategies to control or avoid infection in diabetics (such as vaccinations) are of critical importance.