Medical expert of the article
New publications
Biomarker can help detect diabetes long before it occurs
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, the disease is usually already progressing and has already managed to cause damage to the body.
Swedish scientists from Lund University conducted a study, thanks to which they were able to discover a blood biomarker indicating that its owner belongs to a high-risk group for developing type 2 diabetes. It can be detected many years before the disease is diagnosed.
"Our team found that people with higher than average levels of a protein called SFRP4 in their blood are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. And the development of type 2 diabetes can be expected in the coming years," says Dr. Anders Rosengren, who led the study.
This is the first time a link has been established between the SFRP4 protein, which plays an important role in inflammatory processes in the body, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
During the study, the specialists conducted a comparative analysis of insulin-producing beta cells of diabetics and cells of people who do not suffer from this disease. The experts found that diabetics have a higher amount of the protein SFRP4, which contributes to the development of inflammatory processes. Chronic inflammation negatively affects beta cells, weakening them and they cannot produce enough insulin.
Every three years, the scientists measured the level of SFRP4 in the blood of people who did not have diabetes. During the study, diabetes developed in 37% of the participants. They had an increased concentration of the protein even at the beginning of the study. Among those with a lower than average level of SFRP4, only 9% of the participants developed diabetes.
Experts have called the SFRP4 protein a “risk biomarker.”
According to scientists, their results may become an impetus for developing new methods of treating type 2 diabetes. Experts suggest that one of the methods of such treatment will be blocking a protein in beta cells that produce insulin, which will reduce inflammation and protect the cells.
[