Antibiotic use increases risk of type 1 diabetes

A research investigates antibiotic use in children and the later development of type 1 diabetes.

A study, carried out at NYU Langone Medical Centre and published in Nature Biology this week, set out to investigate this theory. The study used a mouse model of type 1 diabetes and doses of antibiotics equivalent to those given to children.

The team was led by Dr Martin Blaser, The Muriel G and George W Singer Professor of Translational Medicine at NYU School of Medicine. They used non-obese diabetic mice (NOD), which are susceptible to developing type 1 diabetes.

As Dr Blaser says: “Our study begins to clarify the mechanisms by which antibiotic-driven changes in gut microbiomes may increase the risk for type 1 diabetes.” To assess the ability of the changed gut flora to affect health, the team carried out a further experiment.

After the transfer was complete, the researchers observed similar changes in their immune system; this proves that the changes in gut bacteria alone (independent of antibiotics) can make significant changes to the developing immune system.

“This is the first study of its kind suggesting that antibiotic use can alter the microbiota and have lasting effects on immunological and metabolic development, resulting in autoimmunity.

We’re eager to see how these findings may impact the discovery of type 1 diabetes preventive treatments in the future and continued research in the area of vaccines,” said Jessica Dunne, director of Discovery Research at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

These findings have huge implications for national health. As the researchers admit, these are preliminary studies and will need to be replicated; however, they could influence the way in which antibiotics are administered further down the line.