Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tonya Ewers, (303) 724-1520, Tonya.Ewers@uchsc.edu
Study Looks for Environmental Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
Infants who screen positive for diabetes genes can be followed through early childhood
AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 9, 2007) - An international study at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus is looking to discover the causes of type 1 diabetes through genetic screening and environmental triggers. The study is recruiting families either with or without a history of diabetes who are expecting a baby or who already have a new infant up to three months of age to participate in genetic screening that can identify indicators of increased risks for type 1. Genetic testing is done using a child's cord blood at birth or a small sample of blood from the heel.
The young participants of the TEDDY Study, as it's been named, receive a free genetic screening for early stage diabetic antibodies that can help identify if a child is at higher risk for diabetes. Infants found to be at higher genetic risk will have the opportunity to participate in the second phase of the study which is intended to assess what factors in the child's everyday life and environment may trigger the onset of type 1 diabetes or protect them from getting it.
"The information that we can gain from the TEDDY Study will be valuable in the fight against diabetes," said Marian Rewers, MD, PhD, clinical director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes and principle investigator of the UC Denver study. "The incidence of childhood diabetes has doubled over the past 20 years and has even tripled among children under five years of age and we don't know why. We are hoping the children who tested positive for the diabetes gene at infancy and are now enrolled in the phase two of the study will provide clues on how to prevent this serious childhood disease.'
The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study is currently being conducted at six centers around the world and the Barbara Davis Center is one of three clinical centers participating in the United States. In Denver, the TEDDY Study has teamed with the labor and delivery departments of eight area hospitals to offer the free genetic screening to infants at birth.
To date, TEDDY has screened more than 200,000 infants worldwide and more than 32,000 babies in Colorado for the high risk genes associated with type 1 diabetes. Of the 32,000 Colorado babies screened at birth, more than 500 that were found to have the high-risk genes for diabetes are currently taking part in the follow-up study.
Parents interested in participating in the genetic screening part of TEDDY can call (303) 724-7577 or email Teddy.Study@uchsc.edu for more information.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver on the Downtown Campus and at Ninth & Colorado Blvd., and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., University of Colorado Denver is Colorado's premier research university offering more than 100 degrees and programs in 12 schools and colleges in Metro Denver and online. For more information, visit the web site at www.uchsc.edu or the University of Colorado Denver Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.
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