January 1/Groningen, The Netherlands/Diabetes -- A new study in the journal Diabetes suggests that using probiotics or prebiotics to help correct abnormal gut microbiotia may help type 1 diabetes.

The study led by M.C. de Goffau from University Medical Center Groningen and University of Groningen in Groningen, the Netherlands, and colleagues found patients with type 1 diabetes had an abnormal gut microbiome.

The researchers say it has already been well established that the intestinal microbiota participates in the regulation of autoimmune diabetes in animal models. Type 1 diabetes is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the pancreas.

In the current study, the researchers compared the fecal microbiota composition in 18 children with at least two diabetes associated autoantibodies with healthy children without autoantibody.

It was found that children with ß-cell autoimmunity had a low abundance of lactic acid producing and butyric acid producing bacteria, compared with healthy children.

Specifically, children with type 1 diabetes were found to have few Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, both of which are predominantly present in normal gut microbiota, and