Scientists in the United States developed a test that can identify people at risk of contracting type 2 diabetes a decade before the symptoms appear.
The analysis detects the levels of five molecules in the blood which predict who is at risk of developing the disease.
The scientists of the Massachusetts General Hospital said in the journal Nature Medicine that the early detection of type 2 diabetes could eventually help prevent complications associated with the disease, such as blindness.
"This finding can offer information on metabolic routes that are altered early in the process that leads to diabetes," says Dr. Thomas Wang, who directed the study.
According to the researcher, the test not only detects the risk of type 2 diabetes among the general population, but also among the people who present the risk factors associated with the disease, such as obesity.
Studies in the past had found high levels of certain amino acids in obese individuals or people who have insulin resistance.Both disorders precede the development of type 2 diabetes.
Massachusetts scientists wanted to investigate whether these levels of amino acids or other blood molecules could be used to predict the future appearance of type 2 diabetes in individuals who were healthy.
Early diagnosis
The researchers followed 2,422 healthy individuals, of which 201 developed diabetes 2 in the next 12 years of the study.
The scientists measured the levels of 61 metabolites in 189 of the participants who developed the disease and 189 that were free from the disorder.
Metabolites are small molecules that occur in the organism's metabolic processes and are released into the bloodstream.
The results showed that the increase in five amino acids were "significantly" associated with the future development of type 2 diabetes.
The scientists found that individuals with the highest levels of these blood compounds showed five times more likely to develop the disease for the next 12 years.
As type 2 diabetes is the culmination of the organism's inability to metabolize glucose, scientists believe that the possibility of detecting the interruption of this metabolic process in such an early stage could significantly reduce the incidence of the disease.
As Dr. Robert Gerszten points out, another of the researchers, "now they will need to carry out more studies to confirm whether these metabolites play a role in the process that leads to diabetes and if there is a way that we can stop the damage".
For her part, Dr. Victoria King, head of research of the Diabetes UK organization, states that "early diagnosis and effective control of type 2 diabetes are crucial to reduce the risk of developing complications, such as heart disease, stroke, insufficiency, insufficiencyrenal, blindness and amputation. "
"Therefore, it is very important to find a way to identify those who are at risk of developing the disease."
"This study, in the future, could lead to ways to help us identify them at risk in addition to offering new information about how and why type 2 diabetes develops," adds the expert.
