UF Health Researchers Launch Trial Involving Gut Bacteria’s Role in Type 1 Diabetes

Graciela Lorca, Ph.D., was part of a University of Florida Health research team that discovered about a decade ago that something was amiss in the guts of diabetic rats.

Their intestinal tracts, which like humans are teaming with billions of microorganisms that aid digestion, had fewer numbers of a particular probiotic compared with the guts of healthy rats. Might that be helping those healthy rats stave off diabetes?

Lorca is now part of a team of UF Diabetes Institute researchers who have received two grants totaling $3.35 million to investigate whether this probiotic is safe when administered to people with Type 1 diabetes. The research also will examine whether the probiotic preserves insulin production in the pancreases of study participants.

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