People with type two diabetes can suffer from lack of feeling in the hands and feet or constant bowel issues, often thought to be symptoms of their condition. WWAMI researchers at the University of Idaho are ready to challenge that, armed with the claim that toxins present before a person shows signs of type two diabetes can cause nerve and muscle dysfunction in the gut, eventually leading to insulin resistance.
This team was awarded a one-year $99,000 grant from the National Institute of Health to research the toxins and their interactions with nerve cells in the gut. This knowledge could lead to diabetes treatments which target the cause rather than the symptoms.
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, 10.2% of adult Idahoans have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2016, IDHW estimated 5.7% of adults in Latah County were diagnosed with diabetes.
Since Latah County, and Idaho in general, are rural underserved communities from a healthcare standpoint, this research is going to put knowledge in areas where healthcare knowledge is often inaccessible, Rusty Baker, the WWAMI associate director of medical research, said.
This research bridges what Baker called the “bench to bedside” gap, which brings lab researchers and practicing clinicians together to keep both groups updated on the latest medical knowledge.
“The prevalence of type two diabetes is not shrinking,” Baker said. “It’s growing nationally and it’s often a challenge in rural communities. The challenge with Idaho, because of its rural nature, is how far you need to travel to get the care you need.”Onesmo Balemba, an associate professor at UI, said his previous experiments with mice show evidence that the presence of these toxins in the digestive tract cause insulin resistance. His current research will take this study to humans, testing the same theories there.
The study will start off by finding volunteer patients with type two diabetes, particularly those who live with another diabetes bowel-related illness. The next step would be to take blood tests, ask the volunteers about their eating habits and collect samples. From there, the study will take data back to the lab to look for the toxins.
Balemba said his main interest is in the damage the toxins can cause in the “gut brain,” or the system of nerve cells lining the digestive tract known as the enteric nervous system. This system operates independently of the actual brain and controls the digestion process from swallowing to nutrient absorption.
“The link is that these toxins first cause damage to (digestive) muscle and the gut brain,” Balemba said. “We are interested in that because what we strongly believe is that this damage to the gut brain and muscle happens very early, before diabetes.”
Balemba’s team finding a better understanding of the driving factors behind diabetes bowel-related illnesses could lead to better treatments of type two diabetes, Balemba said. A better understanding of the condition could also possibly help find ways to identify it at an earlier stage and find better medicines.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5.