Common bond; In association with the NHS North of Tyne

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Dec 15, 2008

TYPE 1 diabetes and the food intolerance disorder coeliac disease appear to share a common genetic origin, research suggests.

The similarities are such it suggests they may also be triggered by similar environmental factors.

This raises the possibility that the protein gluten, already known to cause coeliac disease, may also trigger type 1 diabetes.

The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Type 1 diabetes causes the body to attack the beta cells of the pancreas, limiting its ability to produce the insulin necessary to regulate blood sugar levels.

By contrast, coeliac disease attacks the small intestine. However, both conditions are the result of a malfunctioning immune system.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, analysed nearly 20,000 tissue samples.