29 September 2010
Dundee researcher to head up £675,000 Type 1 Diabetes Project
A University of Dundee academic is heading up an ambitious £675,000 Type 1 diabetes research project.
Leading health charity Diabetes UK and the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office are providing the joint funding to establish a major resource in Scotland for research into Type 1 diabetes.
The 'Scottish Diabetes Research Network (SDRN) Type 1 Diabetes Bioresource' will see the development ofan invaluable data source for researchers, and will lay down the foundation for many future diabetes studies worldwide. The study will be co-ordinated by Helen Colhoun, Professor of Public Health at Dundee.
A key aim of the Bioresource project is to develop methods for preventing Type 1 diabetes and its associated complications.
Professor Helen Colhoun explained, 'The spirit of collaboration between diabetes researchers across Scotland and the two funders has been fantastic. Most importantly, people living with diabetes are hugely supportive of our work.
'This ambitious project will help us to identify and monitor new biomarkers, i.e. biological characteristics, which will be used to follow the progress and response to the treatment of patients with Type 1 diabetes and to further our understanding of the causes of the condition. All personal information will be recorded anonymously to ensure patient confidentiality.'
Starting later this year, patients will be invited to take part during their usual clinic visits. A network of diabetes specialists across Scotland will ask patients aged 16 years and over with Type 1 diabetes to donate a sample of blood and urine.
By combining samples with information on the patient’s diabetes history, the bioresource will enable future research into the causes and consequences of Type 1 diabetes, which could lead to new avenues of research into prevention and improved treatments.
The study will initially take place at clinics in Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kirkcaldy and Livingston, and aims to include up to 10,000 patients, with other centres anticipated to join as the study progresses.
The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, expressed her enthusiasm for the project, saying, 'We are delighted to be able to provide funding for this project which will be an invaluable research resource with the ultimate aim of improving the treatment of patients with diabetes.
'Scotland is uniquely placed to carry out such research and this project capitalises on recent collaborative working to make best use of patient data.'
Dr. Iain Frame, Diabetes UK Director of Research, said he was delighted the organisation was able to fund the research.
'Although based in Scotland because of its unique electronic health record system, this project will have a huge impact over the coming years for new and ongoing research projects into Type 1 diabetes across the world,' he said.
'I very much look forward to working with this network of clinicians and researchers to ensure the success of this exciting venture.'
The project will also be supported by dedicated Diabetes Research Nurses provided by the Scottish Diabetes Research Network www.sdrn.org.uk, which is also funded by the Chief Scientist Office.
The Network is currently establishing a Diabetes Research Register of patients with diabetes who wish to take part in research. This has been very popular with patients, demonstrating the desire amongst the Scottish diabetes community to participate in high quality research.
The project is being co-funded by the charity Diabetes UK and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Government, who are providing £451,000 and £225,000 respectively over the three-year funding period.
Notes to editors
Type 1 diabetes develops when insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. This type of
diabetes usually appears before the age of 40 and is the least common of the two main types and accounts
for around 10 per cent of all people with diabetes. Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, it is not
known why it develops and it is not connected with being overweight. People with Type 1 diabetes have
to take insulin either by injections or a pump several times a day to stay alive. Further information
here (www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Introduction-to-diabetes/What_is_diabetes/).
Diabetes UK is the leading charity for the three million people in the UK with diabetes. We will spend £6 million on research in 2010 as well as campaign and provide information and support. For more information visit www.diabetes.org.uk.
In the UK, there are currently 2.6 million people diagnosed with diabetes, of which 15% have Type 1 diabetes (http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Reports/Diabetes_in_the_UK_2010.pdf ). Type 1 diabetes affects more than 25,000 people in Scotland and exerts a substantial burden on the health and wellbeing of those affected. Scotland already has one of the highest rates of Type 1 diabetes in the world and it is becoming more frequent for reasons that remain poorly understood.
The Chief Scientist Office is the part of the Scottish Government Health Directorates which supports and promotes high quality research aimed at improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of services offered by NHS Scotland and securing lasting improvements to the health of the people of Scotland. CSO supports research initiated by the research community in Scotland and advises the Scottish Government on how research contributes to improvements in health and healthcare. CSO's research strategy "Investing in Research: Improving Health" sets out its aims for 2010-2014 and features changes to give greater emphasis to funding experimental and translational medicine research and health services and health population research. CSO also aims to deliver value for money through partnerships with other funding agencies (of which the Diabetes Bioresource is an example) and to foster Scotland-wide working through the Scottish Academic health Services Collaboration.
By donating blood, urine and DNA to bioresources, people with Type 1 diabetes across the world have helped researchers to discover a lot of what we know about Type 1 diabetes and its complications. However, to date these collections have been relatively small, often with just a few hundred participants, and as a result we know a lot less about Type 1 than Type 2 diabetes. The scale of the planned Scottish resource will allow a huge number of questions about Type 1 diabetes to be researched.
The Scottish Diabetes Research Network is one of 7 Research Networks funded by the Chief Scientist Office and was set up in 2006. Coordinated from the University of Dundee the Network aims to
- establish an integrated diabetes research infrastructure between the four major academic centres in Scotland and associated managed clinical networks
- increase the volume of high quality commercial and academic clinical trials and increase recruitment throughout Scotland.
- provide a platform for high quality, unintrusive epidemiology on a national level.
Further information is available from:
Professor Helen Colhoun, via the University of Dundee, Press Office - 01382 384768.
Dr Elaine Moir, Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health Directorates - 0131 244 2215.
Stephen Fyfe, Diabetes UK Scotland Office - 0141 245 6380 or 07879 812306.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
