Children who have type 1 diabetes do not show signs of having the autoimmune disease as newborns. It is not until they are four to six years old that they begin to show signs of having the disease, according to Stanford Children's Health. However, there are newborn screenings that can be done to determine if a person will develop type 1 diabetes as they age. And for those babies in particular, a new study aims to show that by administering probiotics to babies orally, the risk for developing type 1 diabetes can be prevented.
According to researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen as well as Technische Universität Dresden, gut health may be key to keeping children from developing type 1 diabetes. This is because previous studies have shown "imbalances in intestinal flora" exist when children are diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, according to EurekAlert! As such, a study will be getting underway in Europe starting in April 2021 to see if adding probiotics to a baby's daily diet can prevent future chances of getting type 1 diabetes entirely.
Finding a way to eliminate type 1 diabetes before it begins is important, as according to BeyondType1, the number of those being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease increases yearly worldwide. And in most of the countries whose diabetes information was collected, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, various areas throughout the United Kingdom, China, India, and more, young people were shown to have the highest spike in diagnoses than any other age bracket.
To be enrolled in the SINT1A study, (Supplementation with B. Infantis for Mitigation of Type 1 Diabetes Autoimmunity babies have to show they have a predisposition for developing type 1 diabetes. This can be determined by collecting a few drops of blood from a newborn, according to News-Medical.net.
If accepted into SINT1A, a daily dose of probiotics that contain a strain of Bifidobacterium Infantis will be administered. The probiotic's job is to balance the intestinal flora, according to Bioengineer.org, stopping an autoimmune response and keeping insulin-producing cells safe from being destroyed.
The SINT1A study hopes that by having healthy gut health, the body will be able to "better distinguish antigens that are safe from those that are dangerous," according to Professor Bonifacio of Technische Universität Dresden, per EurekAlert!
If this proves to be the case, SINT1A will combine with another study, Primary Oral Insulin Trial, currently underway, which is training the body to not have an autoimmune response to insulin via the gut.
With both treatments being provided to those with markers that show they will develop type 1 diabetes as they age, type 1 diabetes should be able to be eradicated completely.
Source: EurekAlert!, BioEngineer.org, News-Medical.net, BeyondType1, Stanford Children's Health