Shrewsbury primary school takes part in pioneering diabetes study
A Shrewsbury school has been taking part in an innovative study where pupils are screened for diabetes.
Schools from the Severn Bridges Academy Trust signed up for the study, with Mount Pleasant Primary Primary School the first to get involved.
The study screens children to find out if they are at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes, and more than 45 children registered to take part.
The Early Surveillance for Auto-immune Diabetes (ELSA) study screens children between the ages of three and 13 to find those at risk of developing insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes, and offer education and support to at risk children and their families.
It is being run in the region by the NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands and is the largest antibody screening programme for Type 1 diabetes in the UK.
The study aims to screen 20,000 children by February 2025.
The research is being carried out to try to support children at risk of developing Type 1 diabetes and to understand more about diabetes and those at risk.
Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition where the blood glucose level is too high because the body cannot make the hormone insulin. By identifying children at risk, they can be prevented from becoming too unwell and start receiving treatment sooner.
Nurses from Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust held briefing sessions at Mount Pleasant to inform parents and encourage them to sign their children up for the screening, with many taking the chance to book sets of siblings to take part in the clinic.
Severn Bridges Multi-Academy Trust’s other schools, Greenfields and Radbrook, will also be holding clinics in their primary schools.
The test itself is a quick and simple and any child discovered to have markers in their blood will undergo further tests. It is estimated that three in every 1,000 children will test positive.
Alison Benge, Mount Pleasant’s headteacher, was encouraged by the parental interest in the session.
She said: “We were very keen to get involved with the research and are proud to be able to offer a clinic in our school. We’ve been blown away by the way our parents have got involved and signed up to the screening.”
Parent Tracy Jenkins was quick to point out the advantages, saying: “Diabetes is such a serious condition that it makes sense to find out if your child is at risk of developing it. The test is quick and painless and if it does turn out to be positive, we have the benefit of knowing that treatment can be started sooner rather than later, and before your child becomes too ill.”
Mount Pleasant became involved in the initiative through a partnership with the NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands, which provides researchers with the practical support they need to make clinical studies happen in both the NHS and the wider health and social care environment.
Dr David Shukla, the Network’s Lead for Primary Care said: “We are very grateful to the schools, parents and children for their support for ELSA. We couldn’t research this serious condition without their help.”
