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22 Sep 2008
Exposure to stomach bacteria could result in protection against the development of Type 1 diabetes, researchers have suggested.
A study carried out by staff at Yale University and the University of Chicago - both in the USA - and published in the journal Nature support the so-called "hygiene hypothesis", the researchers state.
The hygiene hypothesis is a is theory that a lack of exposure to bacteria, viruses and parasites in the developed world could lead to increased risk of conditions such as asthma, allergies and other immune disorders.
In the study, mice were found to be resistant to diabetes under normal conditions, but if they were raised in a germ-free environment - which was lacking in friendly gut bacteria - they developed severe diabetes.
Those exposed to harmless bacteria normally found in the human intestine were significantly less likely to develop diabetes, the researchers said.
"Understanding how gut bacteria work on the immune system to influence whether diabetes and other autoimmune diseases occurs is very important.
"This understanding may allow us to design ways to target the immune system through altering the balance of friendly gut bacteria and protect against diabetes," commented Li Wen, lead author of the study.
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