The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected diabetes as the theme for World Health Day 2016 on April 7th, reflecting the importance of this chronic condition as a global public health concern. Led by Dr. Etienne Krug, WHO Director of Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control, this initiative’s focus on diabetes will call attention to the disease’s economic and social burden—particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Diabetes now affects one in eleven adults worldwide, with rates continuing to rise. New prevention strategies and therapeutic approaches are urgently needed to reverse this trend.
Diabetes research has been moving forward for decades, gradually uncovering the mechanisms by which the human body maintains blood sugar homeostasis. Yet only in the past few years has it become clear that the gut microbiota have a key role to play in these processes. Research on gut microbiota and metabolism has allowed scientists to gain new perspectives on diabetes that could pave the way for better prevention and treatment.
On this diabetes-focused World Health Day, the Gut Microbiota for Health publishing team is pleased to release our ‘Gut microbiota & diabetes’ document, a brief summary of the best information from our Research & Practice pages that cover what we know about the role of gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes. With the document, we highlight those who are carrying out research in this specific field and give you an idea of where that research is headed. The editorial by Prof. Patrice Cani of Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) provides an overview of the recent advances in this area and what the future might hold. Novel diabetes treatments—which make use of probiotics, ‘next-generation’ probiotics, or specific nutrients—could be right around the corner.
You can be sure Gut Microbiota for Health will continue to keep track of this exciting area of research. Sign up for our twice-monthly newsletter or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on all the latest findings!
Follow this link to download the Gut Microbiota and Diabetes as a PDF document
