A world without type 1 diabetes: vision or future reality?

The effort will be focused on prevention of the autoimmunity that precedes and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, eventually leading to type 1 diabetes. Any intervention aiming to prevent type 1 diabetes therefore has to start in infancy or earlier to avert the autoimmunity that often presents at 9 to 24 months of age. GPPAD will facilitate this by establishing screening programs for the early detection of an increased genetic risk of type 1 diabetes in newborns, such as the INGR1D (Investigating Genetic Risk of type 1 Diabetes) study in the Oxford-Thames Valley region.
Simple genetic testing can identify newborns whose risk of developing the early signs of type 1 diabetes is 1 in 10, compared to the general population risk of 1 in 250. Families of babies at increased risk of type 1 diabetes can participate in a clinical study that will test whether oral insulin can prevent autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes.

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