The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has been selected for major affiliate status in TrialNet, a clinical trials network supported by the National Institutes of Health and every major diabetes organization in the country. The focus of TrialNet is Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas-destroying autoimmune form of diabetes.
“Affiliate status will enable the Health Science Center to provide access to this first-of-its-kind national study for families in South Texas who are at high risk for Type 1 diabetes,” said Daniel Hale, MD, professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes at the Health Science Center. Health Science Center researchers will work with TrialNet colleagues to assess the scope of Type 1 diabetes, how the disease differs by ethnicity, the length of time from autoimmune involvement until onset of symptoms and possible ways to intervene.
Study participants will be seen either at the Texas Diabetes Institute of the University Health System or at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital, but with advance notice, the researchers will set up at family reunions, diabetes walks and other gatherings to collect information.
“Now is the time for relatives of individuals with Type 1 diabetes to get involved,” Dr. Hale added. “We want San Antonio and South Texas to be on the front lines of Type 1 diabetes research, just as we already are for Type 2 diabetes research.”
Even if affected individuals or families do not live in San Antonio or South Texas, the team wants to make contact with them. “We want parents, cousins, uncles, aunts. If a grandparent has Type 1, we want to enroll the grandchildren,” Dr. Hale said.
To inquire about study eligibility, call Robin Tragus, R.N., at (210) 358-7586 or send an e-mail to DiabetesTrialNet@uthscsa.edu.
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