A new treatment for type 1 diabetes could be a step closer thanks to a EU grant of €10.9 million, according to a Media-Newswire press release.

Two University of Bristol academics are part of a group of 14 leading researchers who have received the award.  Professor Polly Bingley and Dr Colin Dayan will collaborate with researchers from eight European countries to develop and trial “natural immunomodulators” to change the immune process that destroys the insulin making cells in this condition.

Bingley’s research group has shown that children who are going to develop type 1 diabetes can be identified years in advance by testing for particular antibodies in their blood.

This finding has prepared the way for trials of treatments that could potentially slow or stop the process at this stage, therefore preventing the need for insulin. The first multinational type 1 diabetes prevention study was based in Bristol and this approach remains a major research focus.

Dr Dayan, Head of Clinical Research and Reader in the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, has been collaborating with colleagues at King’s College, London, to develop a “diabetes vaccine” that might eventually be used in this way.  They recently completed a preliminary trial of a possible candidate.

In the EU programme, Professor Bingley and her team will be involved in trials to test new treatments developed by the consortium and use antibody tests to see whether they are having a useful effect on the immune system.

Dr Dayan’s group will extend their work on potential vaccines and will explore novel ways of treating the skin to make these treatments more effective.

Professor Bingley and Dr Dayan will receive about €1 million from the total €10.9 million EU grant.