UKIAb Registry
Research type
Research Study
Full title
UK Islet Autoantibody Registry
IRAS ID
347853
Contact name
Rachel Besser
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance (RGEA), University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a life-long condition where the immune system destroys part of the body (the pancreas) which makes the chemical, insulin. Insulin is needed to control blood sugar levels. Treatment involves life-long insulin replacement by injection or insulin pump.
Research has shown that the development of T1D occurs through different stages. This starts with a phase where there are no symptoms, which can last months or years, before symptoms of T1D develop.
The risk of developing T1D increases with presence of markers in the blood called autoantibodies. Children with two or more autoantibodies have an 80-90% chance of developing T1D within 15 years. It is almost certain that they will develop the condition in their lifetime. Children with only one of these markers are less likely to develop T1D (15% chance over 15 years). It is now possible to test these markers months or years before developing T1D
This registry of children and adults with T1D antibodies has been developed in order to:
● Keep in contact with people with T1D autoantibodies – we will tell you about any treatments (if available) that could delay or prevent T1D, or opportunities to take part in research
● Understand what it is like knowing you are at high risk of T1D in order to help develop better resources to support people
● Collect data on how fast T1D develops
● Understand whether people with T1D autoantibodies use NHS services more than others; for example, due to being anxious about developing T1DTo be able to do this research, we need first to recruit these rare individuals into one single registry of children, young people (CYP) and adults who have diabetes autoantibodies in their blood. We will collect data from individuals in the registry to compare this to data from other countries, to help understand why people progress from being autoantibody positive to requiring insulin.
People entering the registry will also be told if a drug is licensed in the UK to help delay T1D onset. They can also consent to be contacted about any research studies, which are testing drugs or interventions to prevent or delay the start of T1D.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0089
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion