Dr Mhd Iyad Ramadan, the hospital’s Principal Investigator for the study said: “By testing for antibodies—protein markers found in the blood—we can assess the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
“As the number of antibodies a child has increases, so does their risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the future, so a child with two antibodies will have a 75 per cent chance of showing symptoms within the next 10 years.
“To date the ELSA study has recruited 20,000 children across the UK.”
To help children, aged three to 13 years old, in Medway take part in the study, the hospital’s Research and Innovation Team is running clinics in April during the Easter holidays, which will take place in the Magpie Outpatients Centre, Medway Maritime Hospital on the following dates:
- Monday 7 April 1pm to 5pm
- Thursday 10 April 1pm to 5pm
- Monday 14 April 10am to 5pm
- Thursday 17 April 10am to 5pm
The clinics can be booked in advance through Laura Adams, Senior Clinical Research Nurse on 01634 976750 or lauraadams3@nhs.net.
Consent should be completed before the appointment through the ELSA website.
Information sheets for parents and children explaining the study are also available to download.
Research is vitally important here at Medway. Since 1 April 2024 we have taken part in 54 research studies which has resulted in recruiting 5231 people.
