This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Diabetes prevention trial begins
A significant trial, called the autoimmune diabetes Accelerator Prevention Trial (Adapt), aimed at preventing type-1 diabetes in children, is set to begin in Scotland.
Researchers involved in the project are due to contact a total of 6,4000 families in the country, which are all affected by the disease. The programme will involve encouraging children who have a parent or sibling with type-1 diabetes to undergo a blood test to determine whether they are at high risk of developing the condition.
Those who are identified to be at risk of the condition will be offered metformin, a drug which is already used to treat diabetes and is hoped might also help in preventing its development. If the pilot proves successful, it could challenge long-established theories on what causes type-1 diabetes.
The project will test an alternative theory developed by Professor Terence Wilkin, from the University of Exeter Medical School. Currently, most experts believe the condition is caused by an issue with body’s immune system, where body’s defence system attacks insulin producing beta cells.
Most medication is aimed at halting the immune response. However, Wilkin has advised that more focus should be made towards creating a drug that could protect beta cells.
Wilkin said: "It is possible that a modern environment accelerates the loss of beta cells by overworking and stressing them. As a consequence, this could be contributing to the rising incidence of type-1 diabetes, which is appearing in ever younger age groups. Adapt will use a medication to protect the beta cells from the stress, so that they survive longer."
Official data showed that Scotland has the third highest rate of type-1 diabetes in the world, but keeps a good system of record to identify the affected families.
The study will begin in Tayside, before branching out across Scotland and further into England.
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