Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A recent study has found that the gut and gastrointestinal tract play a key role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
The study, published Aug. 1 in the Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders journal, found the effects of gastric emptying rates on blood sugar levels after eating, and the resulting glucose-related hormone release, play a part in the development of type 2 diabetes.
"The role of the gastrointestinal tract in modulating the response to glucose ingestion is often overlooked. In this commentary, Professor Holst and colleagues revisit the role of the GI tract in health and disease," Dr. Adrian Vella, editor-in-chief of Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders and professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, said in a press release.
Researchers focused their study on how the gastrointestinal tract contributes to the regulation of postprandial plasma glucose and secretion of the incretin hormones known as GIP and GLP-1.
Findings showed GIP and GLP-1 help induce and regulate the release of insulin cells by pancreatic beta cells to control the level of glucose in the blood. They also found that the gut plays a role in the hypersecretion of glucagon in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
