By Amy Adams, MS

Reviewed by Jeremy Walston, MD
Last updated September 20, 2000

If you or someone in your family has Type 1 diabetes, you may be concerned about children or family members developing the disease. At this time, the medical community has no established procedure for screening at-risk children or recommendations for preventing Type 1 diabetes. However, children who are considered to be at risk can enter medical studies for diabetes prevention. These studies may reveal new approaches to preventing or delaying diabetes.

Prevention

Although there is no way to prevent Type 1 diabetes, there are certain steps you can take to lower a child's risk. In Caucasian populations, children who develop diabetes are more likely to have had cow's milk as an infant, and children who do not develop diabetes are more likely to have been exclusively breast fed. Therefore, some doctors recommend breast feeding children who have parents or siblings with diabetes, and limiting the child's intake of cow's milk. (For more information about how to prevent and treat Type 1 diabetes, see Related News below.)

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• Vaccines to prevent the immune system from destroying the pancreas cells. This technique has been effective in mice, but has not yet been tested in humans.

• Giving people with a family history of diabetes injected or oral insulin before they develop diabetes. This approach has been effective in mice, and is currently being tested in humans as part of a trial called the Diabetes Prevention Trial — Type 1 (DPT-1).

These methods of preventing diabetes are still experimental. However, they do offer hope that one day children at risk of the disease can avoid the lifelong regimen of watching their diet and taking insulin.

Participate in Research

Participating in research studies gives you the chance to try new approaches to both screening and prevention. In addition, you help others by furthering the medical and scientific communities' understanding of Type 1 diabetes.

More on Participating in Research Trials

To learn more about clinical trials in this area, visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease of the National Institute of Health.

You can also learn about opportunities for research in Type 1 diabetes by registering for MyGeneticHealth. In addition to research opportunities, we provide you with easily digestible summaries of the latest research and medical developments, tailored to convey the news that's pertinent to you and your family.

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Related News

In order to view these articles you will need to have a MyGeneticHealth account. If you are not already a member, selecting the article will automatically take you to a page where you can sign up. Vaccination prevents diabetes in a mouse model New ways to screen, control, cure diabetes on horizon

References

American Diabetes Association (1999). Clinical Practice Recommendations 1999. Diabetes Care (Suppl. 1), 22, S1-S114.

Karjalainen, J., Martin, J. M., et al. (1992). A bovine albumin peptide as a possible trigger of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med, 327, 302-307.

Verge, C. F., Howard, N. J., et al. (1994). Environmental factors in childhood IDDM. A population-based, case- control study. Diabetes Care, 17, 1381-1389.