Posted: 4 November
Researchers have shown that a blood test for early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes can prevent serious illness and hospitalisation in children.
The innovative test is a finger prick sample that is collected at home and mailed to the lab.
The study, led by WEHI clinical-scientist and the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) endocrinologist Associate Professor John Wentworth, looked at over 17,000 children and young adults who were screened for type 1 diabetes using a regular blood test.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the immune system is activated to destroy the cells in the pancreas which produce insulin.
Without insulin, the body’s cells cannot turn glucose (sugar) into energy – meaning people with type 1 diabetes depend on insulin every day of their lives to compensate for what their body cannot naturally produce.
While the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, the condition is believed to have a strong family link and cannot be prevented.
The study primarily focused on families with a history of Type 1 diabetes, due to the risk of disease being 15 times greater than the general population. However, only one in 10 newly diagnosed children have a family history of type 1 diabetes, meaning screening the entire population will be essential.
The team of researchers are the first to use the blood spot assay to screen diabetes in Australia, and the RMH is the first in the world to prove that blood samples collected in the home is a suitable way to prevent type 1 diabetes.
