»aerzteblatt.de«, 21/03/11
Diabetes early-warning system: amino acids predict diabetes 10 years in advance
A groundbreaking study has just been published in ‘Nature Medicine’ which proves that the concentration of five amino acids can predict a type 2 diabetes illness up to 10 years in advance.
In order to investigate this phenomenon, blood samples were taken from 2422 subjects and they were observed for 12 years for their amino acid concentration. 2000 participants developed diabetes within the course of the study. Thomas Wang, head of the study at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, determined that the amino acid levels of isoleucine, leucine, valine, tyrosine and phenylalanine had changed years before in the people who later became ill, in comparison to those who did not.
The ‘Framingham Offspring Study’ was able to make a direct connection between the disturbed amino acid metabolism and the development of type 2 diabetes.
This development is of great importance because it presents a convenient early warning system for type 2 diabetes, as amino acids can be very easily and cost-effectively detected in the blood. Counter-measures can be taken if an illness is detected early on, by changing eating habits for instance.