The study of the microbiota, key to combat obesity and diabetes
"Caixa Impulse" program. Dr. Isabel Huber has developed a product capable of improving both ailments
People suffering from obesity tend to develop other metabolic diseases, among which type 2 diabetes stands out. From previous research, it is known that “in obese people and with diabetes, a greater amount of a molecule called succinate was detected in the blood of what is usually usual, produced by the cells themselves and also by the intestinal microbiota, ”explains researcher Isabel Huber, of the Diamet research group, who once demonstrated that“ there is a specific population of bacteria in obese people and diabetics capable of producing succinate, which causes this population to have an elevated level of this molecule in the blood, contributing in turn to the development of chronic inflammation, tissue damage, worse glucose tolerance ... ».
At the same time, just as there are bacteria capable of producing succinate, there are also bacteria that can consume it, so that, based on this idea, Dr. Huber and her team began to work on the idea of making a probiotic strategy, that is, a product that has live bacteria and that is capable of consuming succinate. In short, the project that leads and is being developed within the framework of the CaixaImpulse de Obra Social program ‘Ca la Caixa’ ’seeks as its ultimate goal“ to improve the metabolic and inflammatory profile of patients with obesity and diabetes ”.
The probiotic product would also be accompanied by "a sensor, with a system similar to the glucometer, which could measure blood succinate," says Huber. Thus, this sensor would allow to assess whether the probiotic is working and works well, while also offering the possibility of selecting patients who can benefit from it, since not everyone has high blood succinate. At the moment, the project is in the testing phase in animals with the purpose of being able to develop it soon in people.
