Can exercise reduce disease activity in people with type-1 diabetes?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can a remotely monitored, home-based exercise intervention for individuals with type-one diabetes reduce immune-driven disease activity?
IRAS ID
303066
Contact name
Alex Wadley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
Type-1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterised by targeted destruction of the pancreas by cells of the immune system. The annual cost of T1D to the NHS is £1.8 billion per year, with the majority of these costs relating to disease complications (e.g. heart disease and nerve damage). Strategies to prevent disease progression and mitigate these complications are therefore urgently required. Our research team have evidence to suggest that newly diagnosed patients who are more physically active can preserve the function of their pancreas and thus delay their insulin requirements by 5-fold. The mechanisms underpinning these marked clinical benefits are not clear, but may involve reductions in disease activity.
We have recently established a highly sensitive method for measuring the number and activity of immune cells in the blood that can destroy the pancreas. By adopting this method, the impact of exercise on the disease activity in patients with T1D can be determined for the first time.
This project will involve the national recruitment of patients who have been diagnosed with T1D within one year and that are not physical active to undertake a home-based exercise intervention. In a randomised and crossover study design, patients will be randomised into a control group or validated home-based exercise program for a period of 12 weeks, separated by a 12-week washout period (36 weeks total). Our home-based exercise intervention is virtually monitored by means of a mobile-health application (mHealth), which enables regular feedback from the research team to patients. A blood sample will be drawn before and after each 12-week period to test the hypothesis that regular exercise can reduce disease activity. This project will take a multidisciplinary approach to investigate how remotely monitored exercise can lower patients’ disease activity, improve clinical outcome and therefore swiftly impact national treatment regimens for T1D.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NE/0211
Date of REC Opinion
23 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion