Diabetes linked to coeliac
Type I diabetes has been linked to the food intolerance disorder coeliac.
Coeliac disease attacks the small intestine, while Type I diabetes affects the pancreas which limits its ability to produce sufficient insulin.
However, a new study has ascertained that both conditions derive from a malfunctioning immune system.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, examined nearly 20,000 tissue samples to identify genetic similarities between the two conditions.
The study – which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine – found seven chromosomes which linked the two conditions.
Researcher Professor David van Heel said: "These findings suggest common mechanisms causing both coeliac and type I diabetes - we did not expect to see this very high degree of shared genetic risk factors."
Sarah Sleet, of the charity Coeliac UK, said the research was a significant advance in the treating a condition which is often undiagnosed.
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