One day, there could be a new test to screen for type 1 diabetes, now that scientists have found markers in the blood of the umbilical cords of children who were later diagnosed with the disease.

In new research published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists at the University of Florida and Linköping University in Sweden found that early signs of type 1 diabetes can be found in the blood of the umbilical cord, which links the baby to the placenta during pregnancy and is discarded at birth.

A UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher standing, facing the camera. — Angelica Ahrens. Courtesy, Angelica Ahrens, UF/IFAS.

This does not mean that diabetes is predetermined, said Angelica Ahrens, lead author of the study and assistant research scientist in microbiology at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

“It means that biology is being shaped during a period when systems are still highly adaptable,” said Ahrens.

Click here for more about this study and its results.

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