(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new scientific discovery could one day lead to the prevention of type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have found a way to prevent type 1 diabetes in rats that are generally prone to develop the disease.

In earlier research, scientists discovered the human protein zonulin and found it is produced in very large amounts in people with autoimmune diseases. This overproduction triggers a number of other reactions that lead to the production of antibodies that can destroy insulin-producing cells in people genetically predisposed to develop type 1 diabetes.

In the new study, researchers used diabetes-prone rats to test the effectiveness of a zonulin inhibitor peptide called AT-1001. The peptide prevented diabetes from developing in the vast majority of animals tested. Researchers say, "In essence, we saw that this peptide stopped the sequence of events that leads to diabetes."

Researchers add this discovery could eventually lead to the development of an oral medication to arrest autoimmune diseases in the early stages. Clinical trials will soon begin to test the use of AT-1001 in patients with celiac disease -- a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.