NEW STUDY. The action of metformin, the classic drug used to treat diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar, can be blocked by a molecule from the bacteria in our intestines, a University of Gothenburg study shows. Metformin is the primary treatment option for type 2 diabetes, but there are major variations in how individuals respond to this drug. In some people it lowers blood glucose (sugar) and delays the course of…
Gut microbiota products can favor diabetes
NEW STUDY. A study published in the journal Cell shows that the gut microbiota has the ability to affect how cells respond to insulin, and can thus contribute to type 2 diabetes. The findings demonstrate an hereto unknown pathological mechanism. During recent years, the gut microbiota has been associated with health and several disease conditions. However, only a few studies have investigated whether an altered gut microbiota can directly affect…
Five granted a total of almost SEK 15 million from Formas
GRANTS. Degradation products in the body that affect the risk of developing diabetes, how preschools should be built so that the sound environment is as good as possible for the children, how health of the residents of Ronneby has been affected by contaminated drinking water and how the interaction between the food we eat and bacteria in the intestines affects the risk of developing liver disease. That is what five…
Marcus Lindh accepts Jubilee Prize in Stockholm
AWARD. The diabetes researcher Marcus Lindh, Associate Professor at the Institute of Medicine, was recently awarded the Swedish Society of Medicine’s Jubilee Prize of SEK 150,000. He was awarded the prize for his pioneering clinical tests relating to type 1 and type 2 diabetes with the aim of improving treatments for these diseases. The award was made at the Swedish Society of Medicine’s Annual Ceremony on 14 November. “It is a great…
Newly discovered disease mechanism for type 2 diabetes
NEW STUDY. A newly discovered mechanism behind reduced insulin production in type 2 diabetes is now being presented. In an article in Nature Communications, researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy describe how insulin-producing cells regress in their development, become immature, and do not work properly. A finding that opens the doors to new clinical treatments. “If you can affect things at the cellular level and restore the body’s own rapid regulation, you…