Gut microbiota and type 2 diabetes mellitus

In recent years, many studies have related gut microbiome to development of highly prevalent diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Obesity itself is associated to changes in the composition of gut microbiome, with a trend to an overgrowth of microorganisms more efficiently obtaining energy from diet. There are several mechanisms that relate microbiota to the onset of insulin resistance and diabetes, including changes in bowel permeability, endotoxemia, interaction with bile acids, changes in the proportion of brown adipose tissue, and effects associated to use of drugs like metformin.

Currently, use of pro and prebiotics and other new techniques such as gut microbiota transplant, or even antibiotic therapy, has been postulated to be useful tools to modulate the development of obesity and insulin resistance through the diet.