Abstract
The microbial flora in the digestive tract has been recently studied in relation to metabolic diseases. There are relations to both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
The intestinal flora is affected by diet, physical exercise and it significantly changes after bariatric surgeries. Giving birth by caesarean section affects the gut flora development and increases the risk of type 1 diabetes in further life of the child.
Obese patients with type 2 diabetes may lack protective microbes which improve glucoregulation in the experiment or on the contrary their patogenous microbes may grow which have been proven to even be able to penetrate into abdominal adipose tissue and play a role, inter alia, in the hepatic impairment and systemic inflammation. Also vaccination against these microbes is under consideration.
Microbiome can be also positively affected by metformin treatment. The transfer of intestinal flora by means of fecal transplantation can improve glucoregulation.
The influencing of intestinal flora is likely to become a new mechanism of diabetes treatment.