Researchers from the University of Turku discovered that women who developed prediabetes after pregnancy had aberrations already in their early pregnancy blood serum metabolomic profile. More specifically, they had higher concentrations of small HDL particles in early pregnancy.
Children who develop type 1 diabetes show epigenetic changes in the cells of their immune system already before the antibodies of the disease are detected in their blood. The findings of two new studies offer new opportunities to identify the children with the genetic risk for developing diabetes very early on.
A new study identified microbial signatures which predicted the onset of type 2 diabetes during nearly 16 years of follow-up in a large Finnish population cohort. This study was conducted by researchers from the University of Turku and Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), together with international partners.
InFLAMES (Innovation Ecosystem based on the Immune System) is a Finnish research flagship that aims at identifying novel drug targets using the most modern technological platforms and finding novel diagnostic tools to identify the patients benefitting from personalised therapies.
A healthy, comprehensive diet that lowers the body’s inflammation reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, reveals a new study from the University of Turku in Finland.
Diabetes is a risk factor for cognitive decline. In a study of the University of Turku and Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the researchers observed that already a higher two-hour glucose level in the glucose tolerance test predicts worse performance in a test measuring episodic memory after ten years. Decline in episodic memory is one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Insulin is a key hormone in energy metabolism and blood sugar regulation. Normal insulin function in the body may be disturbed by e.g. overweight, leading to decreased insulin sensitivity and increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In a Finnish collaborative study of Turku PET Centre and UKK institute, the researchers noticed that standing is associated with better insulin sensitivity. Increasing the daily standing time may therefore help prevent chronic diseases.
Consuming the combination of fish oil and probiotic food supplements modulate the composition of gut microbiota in overweight and obese pregnant women, reveals a new study conducted at the University of Turku, Finland. The same study shows that gut microbiota composition and function is not related to gestational diabetes.
World leading diabetes research foundation JDRF from the United States has granted the University of Turku three-year funding for its PAMP project (Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns) with the total sum of over €520,000.
Researchers from the Turku Bioscience Centre have found changes in molecules in the blood that might be new markers of type 1 diabetes. The new findings may help understand the early pathogenesis of the disease.