ld is sick, every time the child receives medication, whether it's over-the-counter or prescription. Every time the child goes to a health care provider, even if it's a well-baby visit, we want to know about it. When they go to the emergency after-hours clinic at 4 o'clock in the morning, we want to know. We are very much involved in what is going on with this child's health whether or not we suspect it has anything to do with type 1 diabetes. We are just throwing this giant net of what is happening with these babies and reeling in as many answers as we can before we know they are answers."
"One school of thinking is the triggering of the disease actually starts in utero and whether it's true or not, no one really knows," echoes Dr. She. "We need to have more evidence and we need to know what really triggers the disease."
They definitely will have plenty of evidence.
Project managers such as Mrs. Hopkins will see study children every three months for the first four years of life and every six months after that to age 15. During that first visit, they will extensively revisit the pregnancy with the mother.
Those earliest years are important because they are formative years for the immune system as well, says Dr. She. "What your infant comes in contact with determines how the immune system develops. If you encounter infectious agents, bacteria, viruses, that will influence how the immune system will work for a long, long time to come. Most people believe that the early years are more important but that does not mean the later years are not important."
So TEDDY will follow children through puberty and the two age peaks for type 1 diabetes: ages 2-4 and 12-15.
They'll even analyze the water children drink. Every city's water is different, says Mrs. Hopkins, and some children drink well water or run their water through the refrigerator or filter.
The researchers also are collecting any hard evidence they can
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Contact: Toni Baker
tbaker@mcg.edu
706-721-4421
Medical College of Georgia
13-Feb-2006
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