Recent research suggests that there is a possible link between bacteria in different parts of the body and type 2 diabetes. This discovery could open new avenues for combating diabetes and other diseases associated with obesity.
What is type 2 diabetes?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 10 people in the United States have diabetes, and of those, about 90% have type 2 diabetes. The cells of a person with type 2 diabetes cannot properly process blood sugar, which affects the main way they get energy. This happens because the cells do not respond properly to the hormone insulin, which allows cells to process blood sugar. When cells do not respond properly to insulin, a person is said to be insulin resistant. As a result, blood sugar levels continue to rise, which can cause damage to various parts of the body. There is an association between obesity and type 2 diabetes, with obese people at higher risk of developing the disease.
Bacterial signatures
For their study, the researchers took samples from 40 people who were severely obese and were about to undergo bariatric surgery. Half of the participants had type 2 diabetes, while the other half showed signs of insulin resistance but did not yet have diabetes. The researchers took samples from three abdominal fat deposits, as well as from the liver, and tried to identify which types of bacteria resided in these tissues. They hoped that the investigations would allow them to determine a “bacterial signature” for the sampling sites of the different individuals. The researchers found that there was a clear difference in the bacterial signature between people with diabetes and those without.
Future research
Although the study's findings are preliminary, they highlight some areas of research that could be fruitful in the future. The researchers recently received $2 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to further develop their findings. This new research will focus on understanding the relationship between gut bacteria, diabetes and obesity, with the potential to determine whether certain bacteria may be useful in fighting diabetes.
In conclusion, recent findings suggest that bacteria in the gut and elsewhere in the body may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. This information could pave the way for new treatments and prevention strategies for this disease.
