The concentrations of short-chain fatty acids and other microflora-associated characteristics in faeces from children with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes and control children and their family members.

AIMS: The gut flora is quantitatively the most important source of microbial stimulation and may provide a primary signal in the maturation of the immune system. We compared the microflora-associated characteristics (MACs) in 22 children with newly diagnosed diabetes, 27 healthy controls, and their family members to see if there were differences between the children and if there was a familial pattern.

METHODS: The MACs were assessed by determining the concentrations of eight short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), mucin, urobilin, b-aspartylglycine, coprastanol and faecal tryptic activity (FTA).

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the concentrations of SCFA in the diabetes and control children. Members of families with a diabetic child had a higher concentration of acetic acid (P < 0.02) and lower concentrations of several other SCFAs than control families (P < 0.05-0.02). The other MACs showed no differences between the children or between the two family groups.

CONCLUSION: In this pilot study we saw no differences in the MACs between children with diabetes and their controls. There were, however, some differences between the family members of diabetic children and controls that may indicate a familial pattern regarding the production of SCFAs by the gut flora. The role of the gut flora in relation to the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes needs to be analysed in larger and/or prospective studies.