Type 2 Diabetes May Be Caused by Exposure to Staph Bacteria

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Exposure to the toxin produced by staph bacteria could cause Type 2 diabetes, a recent study suggests.

In a study published in the journal mBio, University of Iowa researchers have found that Staphylococcus aureus bacteria may cause the development of Type 2 diabetes.

For the research, scientists exposed lab rabbits to the toxins produced by staph bacteria. They found that the rabbits developed symptoms commonly attributed to type 2 diabetes including glucose intolerance, inflammation and insulin resistance.

"We basically reproduced Type 2 diabetes in rabbits simply through chronic exposure to the staph superantigen," said Professor Patrick Schlievert of UI Carver College of Medicine, according to Medical News Today.

Obesity is one of the major risk factors for type 2 diabetes and as people gain weight, the skin accumulates colonies of staph bacteria and infection. The superantigens produced by the bacteria can wreak havoc in the immune system since staph bacteria is also the same microbe that causes toxic shock syndrome, sepsis and cellulitis.

"What we are finding is that as people gain weight, they are increasingly likely to be colonized by staph bacteria -- to have large numbers of these bacteria living on the surface of their skin," Professor Schlievert said via a press release. "People who are colonized by staph bacteria are being chronically exposed to the superantigens the bacteria are producing."

In their research, the team compared the findings in their rabbit study to the levels of staph colonies on patients with diabetes. They found similar levels of staph superantigen exposure on both. Prof. Schlievert and his team believe that their study could help find therapies to eliminate staph bacteria or offset its antigens.

"I think we have a way to intercede here and alter the course of diabetes," Prof. Schlievert said. "We are working on a vaccine against the superantigens and we believe that this type of vaccine could prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes."

Scientists are currently testing how a topical ointment called glycerol momolaurate, a substance believed to eliminate staph bacteria, could get rid of staph colonies from the skin, according to Diabetes UK. They are also hoping to find whether the substance can improve blood sugar levels in prediabetics.

According to the statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 29 million people who have type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the United States. It is also estimated that 86 million adults have prediabetes symptoms with 15 to 30 percent developing type 2 diabetes in five year's time.