New initiatives of the IDS that require the traditional goodwill and cooperation of IDS members have just been posted on this website. They extend the work of the IDS on standardisation of autoantibody assays, T-cell assays and measurement of beta-cell function to the arena of intervention/prevention clinical trials.
First, there is a document
"Draft Guidelines for Intervention Trials in Subjects with Newly-Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes" written by Carla Greenbaum and myself, on which we would like your opinions and constructive comments. We would envisage that these Guidelines will eventually be published as reflecting the views of the IDS and its Membership. I strongly urge you to read the Guidelines carefully, make any comments or changes you feel appropriate on a downloaded version, and send it back to Carla at
cjgreen@vmresearch.org.
Second, there is a request for data on subjects with type 1 diabetes followed since diagnosis. Carla has written a preamble and provided an Excel file into which to insert data and return to her. We will then collate the data and return it to contributing investigators in the first instance as part of a Workshop. The intention is to publish a report with all contributors as co-authors. At a later stage, it may be necessary for us to actually conduct a Workshop in which the ideal protocol for assessing residual beta-cell function by C-peptide stimulation is devised, analogous to the previous ICARUS protocol developed for the IVGTT to measure first phase insulin response. Those of you who have data from previous studies on the natural history of type 1 diabetes or from the control arms of intervention trials in newly-diagnosed subjects are strongly encouraged to provide the data on the attached Excel file and participate in this Workshop.
Finally, one of our Committees, the International Diabetes Immunotherapy Group (
IDIG) has requested information on
current intervention/prevention trials to update our register, which will then be posted on this website. Providing this information on the attached sheet will only take 5 minutes and will contribute to the important role of the IDS to provide such information to the scientific and wider community. For an example of a completed sheet, click
here
Thank you for your support, and again I encourage your active participation in the activities of the IDS. Remember, the new website is being maintained on a daily basis and is available to all IDS members. If you wish to post something on the website, please contact
Catherine O'Shea at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, The Royal Melbourne Hospital Post Office, Victoria 3050, Australia, or 61 3 9345 2460.
