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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Holdings -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Louie Romano who wrote (130)	11/2/1998 2:18:00 PM
From: Link Lady	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224

This is testing for Type I Diabetes but I found it interesting. Sick Kids researchers embark on diabetes prevention study TORONTO, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - Diabetes researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) are hoping that thousands of Canadians will volunteer to be screened as part of a study aimed at preventing type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. The Sick Kids research team has joined a large-scale North American clinical trial being coordinated by the National Institutes of Health in the United States. In order to recruit the 830 volunteers needed for the study, more than 80,000 relatives of people with type 1 diabetes must be screened for two specific antibodies associated with the eventual risk of development of type 1 diabetes. ''Earlier studies have shown that high levels of these antibodies in a person's blood, combined with other risk factors, indicates that he or she may develop diabetes within five years,'' explains endocrinologist Diane Wherrett, who is leading the Sick Kids participation in the study. ''Research has also indicated that it may be possible to prevent type 1 diabetes by immunizing with insulin.'' The trial began in the United States in 1994 but finding enough volunteers to participate in the study is turning out to be more difficult than originally anticipated. The expansion of the study into Canada should aid their efforts, as up to 25 new cases per 100,000 people are diagnosed each year in both countries. ''We are hoping that many Canadians will call us and offer to be screened for the trial,'' says Dr. Denis Daneman, head of Endocrinology at HSC and a collaborator in the study. ''As long as they have a relative with type 1 diabetes and are between the ages of 3 and 45 they are probably eligible for screening.'' People with the antibodies and positive results on further testing who agree to participate in the trial will be assigned to one of two trials, depending on their degree of risk for developing the disorder. Volunteers with a higher risk for type 1 diabetes will be randomly assigned to a control group or to a group receiving insulin injections. Those at a moderate risk will be randomly assigned to a control group or to a group receiving an oral capsule of insulin crystals. While insulin crystals cannot be used to treat diabetes, as they are digested by the body, they may stop the body's immune system from destroying insulin-producing cells. People with Type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin, a hormone that regulates how cells obtain energy from carbohydrates. T-cells produced by the body's immune system mistakenly destroy insulin-producing cells. As a result, sugar levels in the blood build up to dangerous levels, causing damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart. Without daily insulin injections, people with type 1 diabetes will lapse into a coma and eventually die. Three other Canadian centres are participating in the trial: BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, Foothills Hospital in Calgary, and the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Canadians can call a toll-free number, 1-800-HALT-DM1 (1-800-425-8361), to be referred to the screening centre nearest them. Local residents can call Carrie McLellan, HSC Diabetes Research Coordinator, directly at 416-813-5858. newswire.ca