ANDREW AND APRIL WHITE
and their
four children are a typical, healthy and
active family. So when son Riley was
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two
years ago, it came as a surprise.
The only other family member with
type 1 diabetes is a niece.
“We don’t think of type 1 diabetes in
our family,”April said, “and we wondered
if it was hereditary. When we learned
about TrialNet, we were excited to
participate so we could see if any of the
rest of us could develop the disease.”
For families like theWhites who have
a relative with type 1 diabetes, other
members of the family are as much as
15 times more likely to develop the
disease than the general population.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed
in children and young adults and was
previously known as juvenile diabetes.
It’s an autoimmune disease in which
the immune system destroys the cells in
the pancreas that produce insulin. Only
5 percent of people with diabetes have
this form of the disease.
TrialNet study
Kadlec’s Diabetes Education program
has participated for a number of years
in the international clinical study called
the Pathway to Prevention by TrialNet,
an organization dedicated to the study,
prevention and early treatment of type 1
diabetes. The study screens relatives for
risk markers called autoantibodies.
If a person tests positive (less than
4 percent of participants), the test is
repeated. If the second test indicates the
presence of at least one autoantibody
associated with type 1 diabetes, the
person will be invited to take part in
the next phase of the study. During
this second phase, blood tests are
used to estimate a person’s chances of
developing type 1 diabetes over the next
ve years.
“We all got tested, except our oldest
son who was out of town,” said April. “It
was really a simple form, and then a
quick and easy blood test. About four
weeks later, we got the results. The risk
markers did not show up for any of us.
That was good news.”
TheWhites will continue to annually
test their children until they are 18 to
determine if the markers appear. “After
that age, it is a very low chance that they
would develop type 1 diabetes,” she said.
“It felt great to get the results,”
said April. “It took a weight o our
shoulders. We don’t have to wonder
now if someone else is going to have it
suddenly come up.”
As for how Riley is doing since his
diagnosis, April said, “he’s doing great.
He’s an athlete and manages the disease
so well. He’s on a new insulin pump,
which for an athlete is the way to go.”
How to participate
The TrialNet screening continues to
be o ered through Kadlec’s Diabetes
Education. To qualify to be screened, a
person must either be:
1 to 45 years of age and have a brother,
sister, child or parent with type 1
diabetes
1 to 20 years of age and have a cousin,
aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half-sibling
or grandparent with type 1 diabetes
For more information, call
Diabetes Education at
(509) 942-2660
.
Diabetes trial site
Families at risk
Families members who have a
relative with type 1 diabetes
are as much as 15 times more
likely to develop the disease.
11
The White family:
Jackie, Riley, April,
Drew, Sydney and
(not pictured) DJ.
