The intestinal flora can contribute to diabetes

According to a new study, intestinal flora can be a contributing factor for a person with type 2 diabetes.

In the long term, new discoveries can lead to new ways to treat – and prevent – some cases of diabetes.

The bacteria that live in our intestines keep us healthy, but in recent years they have also been associated with chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, among others, have discovered a link between intestinal flora and type 2 diabetes.

As part of this study, the researchers called the amino acid histidine, which we get in our diet. When the amino acid is not properly broken down, a substance (imidazole propionate) forms, which results in a deterioration of the cell's ability to respond to insulin.

"Wrong direction"

"Of course, this is not the only way to get diabetes, but Fredrik Bäckhed, professor of molecular medicine, could record a modified intestinal flora in a subset of patients.

– With a healthy intestinal flora, histidine can be positive. But with a disordered intestinal flora, histidine can be taken in the wrong direction.

The researchers used blood samples from five patients with diabetes and ten non-diabetic patients. It was found that diabetic disease had high levels of imidazole propionate. The results were confirmed later in a study involving 649 people.

Treat bacteria

Fredrik Bäckhed hopes that the new findings, published in Cell magazine, will contribute to alternative treatment or, at best, to the prevention of some cases of type 2 diabetes.

"If you're really futuristic, you can not treat the body, but the bacteria," he says.

"It is important to say that this can not help everyone, but we can find patients with a disordered intestinal flora, so perhaps we could at least help a proportion of these people.

October 25, 2018 5:05 p.m.