New, highly sensitive assays for research into Type 1 or 'juvenile' diabetes should speed discovery of possible cures
PerkinElmer has announced the availability of GAD65 Ab and IA-2 Ab autoantibody kits for monitoring individuals at risk of type 1 diabetes, formally referred to as 'juvenile' diabetes. The Delfia GAD65 Ab and Delfia IA-2 Ab commercial assays, approved for research in the United States, will enable pharmaceutical companies, together with the research groups, to search for possible drug candidates for a cure of type 1 diabetes much faster than ever before.
According to the International Diabetes Center, it is estimated that between 15-17 million people worldwide suffer from this condition.
Some experts predict that this figure could well double within the next ten years if a cure is not found.
In the United States, 30% of children who have type 1 diabetes are only diagnosed at the point when a diabetic ketoacidosis occurs.
This reaction indicates severe, out-of-control diabetes (high blood sugar) that needs emergency treatment, and can lead to coma and even death.
"There is currently no effective intervention therapy to delay or prevent the onset of the disease.
However, some experts suggest that even in the absence of a proven intervention therapy, it is very useful to identify those children at risk of developing type 1 diabetes," said Peter Coggins, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences.
"Many international studies have shown that there are fewer emergency cases and deaths in populations where individuals have a knowledge of their individual risk of becoming diabetic." PerkinElmer's autoantibody tests offer a great benefit to the growing number of pharmaceutical companies whose efforts are directed toward new therapies for type 1 diabetes.
Using PerkinElmer tests, progression of early type 1 diabetes can be monitored by the levels of islet cell autoantibodies in blood circulation, and therefore the effectiveness of novel drug candidates can be determined.
Many studies show that non-diabetic individuals who express combinations of islet autoantibodies have a much higher risk for type 1 diabetes than individuals who express less autoantibodies.
PerkinElmer's Delfia GAD65 Ab and Delfia IA-2 Ab tests are more precise, reproducible, and robust than RBAs (radio binding assays), the current method for testing for type 1 diabetes, and are much simpler and far quicker to perform. Data produced suggests that sensitivity and specificity is similar or better than that obtained with RBA.
This product is available for research use only.
