The Amsterdam UMC will receive 1 million euros to investigate whether intestinal bacteria can help people with type 1 diabetes. The money comes from the Diabetes Research Netherlands Foundation and the Diabetes Fund.
In the Netherlands, approximately 120,000 people have type 1 diabetes. They have to self-administer insulin to maintain their sugar metabolism. The new research focuses on faecal bacteria in the intestines that play a role in sugar metabolism and the immune system.
Pancreas
Researcher Nieuwdorp has already conducted exploratory research into the transfer of intestinal bacteria via faeces transplantation into the small intestine of people with type 1 diabetes. He hopes that this treatment will “polish up” the pancreas function of patients. The pancreas plays an important role in regulating blood sugar.
Nieuwdorp will examine how the attack on the insulin-producing cells is related to the bacteria in the intestines and whether treatment with good intestinal bacteria makes the immune system less aggressive towards the body. The new research consists of three studies and will last five years.
Poo transplants have been performed in the Netherlands for years, for example in patients with Crohn’s disease. The patient is given a watery solution of the stool of a healthy person through a tube in the nose. The patient does not smell or taste any of that.
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