Our clinical research team have just passed a significant milestone in support of a national study to identify babies at risk of developing diabetes.
The James Paget is one of 17 hospitals across the country taking part INGRID2, a maternity study which screens newborn babies with the aim of identifying those that are genetically ‘high risk’ of developing type 1 diabetes, which affects 1 in every 250 children born in the UK every year.
Last week, our team celebrated reaching their recruitment target of 1000 participants to the study, which started in December last year and also offers parents the chance to get involved in further research aimed at reducing the chance of their baby developing Type 1 diabetes or delaying its onset.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes glucose levels in the blood to become too high. People with Type 1 diabetes have to take insulin every day to manage their condition which can be very disruptive and challenging, especially for children and young people. Having Type 1 diabetes can also increase the risks of a person developing other medical conditions.
INGRID2 is run by GPPAD (The Global Platform for the Prevention of Autoimmune Diabetes) and Newcastle University, with recruitment to the study due to continue until May 2027.