Wheat May Contribute to Diabetes

OTTAWA—People with an abnormal immune response to wheat may be more susceptible to contracting type 1 diabetes, according to a new study (Diabetes. 2009 Aug;58(8):1789-96).

Of 42 patients with type 1 diabetes observed in the study, 20 displayed overactive CD3 T-cell, which are immune cells, to wheat polypeptides (WPs).

The study concluded a response to WPs in the 20 patients “indicates a diabetes-related inflammatory state in the gut immune tissues associated with defective oral tolerance and possibly gut barrier dysfunction.”