• Gastroenterology

    Microbiome Changed by Gluten Increases Incidences of Type 1 Diabetes

Research has shown that the intestinal microbiome plays a large role in the development of type 1 diabetes. Now, researchers at Mayo Clinic have demonstrated that gluten in the diet may modify the intestinal microbiome, increasing incidences of Type 1 diabetes. Mayo Clinic immunologist and study author Govindarajan Rajagopalan, Ph.D., says, “These changes suggest that the presence of gluten is directly responsible for the diabetes-creating effects of diet and determines the gut microflora.” Gastroenterologist and study author Joseph Murray, M.D., says, “While this is purely an animal-based study, it allows us to manipulate these mice in such a way as to study the effects of certain diets, and these diet changes seem to make an impact on the likelihood of developing the mouse equivalent of type 1 diabetes.”

The research is published Nov. 13, in the journal PLOS ONE.

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Journalists: Audio sound bites with Dr. Rajagopalan and Dr. Murray are available in the downloads.