Thousands of children are set to be screen for type 1 diabetes in a brand new trial taking place across the UK, starting today on World Diabetes Day (November 14).
Up to 20,000 kids aged between three and 13 will be included in the trial that could "transform the way the condition is identified and managed” at its earliest stages, reports iNews. The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune Diabetes (Elsa) study will screen children's blood to identify the individuals that are likely to develop the condition, providing an earlier diagnosis.
Those found to be high risk for diabetes could be eligible for trials of immunotherapies to prevent or delay the condition - and will also be given guidance on how to manage it. Type 1 diabetes is a life-long condition that could have serious effect on their autoimmune system.
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Diabetes is a condition that means people's bodies can no longer produce insulin to control blood sugar levels, with serious cases leading to heart damage, kidney issues and nerve damage.
Diagnosing type 1 diabetes can be essential to avoiding these life-threatening conditions, but more than a quarter of children aren't given their diagnosis until they develop diabetic ketoacidosis.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a potentially fatal condition in children that requires hospital treatment urgently once it is discovered.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, which is co-funding the study, said: “Identifying children at high risk of type 1 diabetes could put them and their families on the front foot, helping ensure a safe and soft landing into an eventual diagnosis… reducing the risk of life-altering complications.
“Every day without type 1 diabetes counts. Extra years without the condition means a childhood no longer lived on a knife-edge of blood sugar checks and insulin injections, free from the relentlessness and emotional burden of type 1 diabetes.”
The researching team, led by scientists at the University of Birmingham, will assess 20,000 children's risk of the condition through a combination of the following:
- finger-prick tests
- venous blood tests
The researchers will be looking autoantibodies, which are tools used by the immune system to earmark insulin-producing cells for destruction. Autoantibodies are associated with the development of type 1 diabetes, and can appear in the blood years, or sometimes decades, before people begin to experience any symptoms.
Parth Narendran, Professor of Diabetes Medicine, and Dr Lauren Quinn, Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, said: “Screening children can reduce their risk of DKA at diagnosis around five-fold and can help them and their families settle into the type 1 diagnosis better.
“We know the value of identifying people at risk of type 1 diabetes and we have the tools to do so – now we need to understand how best to implement them in the UK.”
Dr Robertson added: “With the first immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes currently under review in the UK and the US, the era of being able to strike early to delay type 1 diabetes is within reach.
“The success of the next generation of preventative type 1 diabetes treatments depends on reaching as many people as possible who could benefit, and this can only be achieved through screening programmes.”
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