At-home type 1 diabetes testing for children probed in UK study
A home test to diagnose type 1 diabetes in children is being investigated in a UK study for the first time. Researchers at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre said the study will invite 90 children and young people across two groups to assess the GTT@home test. The programme would determine whether the kit could be used routinely across the NHS.Study lead Rabbi Swaby, clinical research fellow in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, said the method "could be a major breakthrough for reducing the burden of testing."
GTT@home is an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) that uses finger-prick blood samples to measure how well the body processes glucose.The kit contains the test device, a finger prick, a preformulated glucose drink and detailed instructions. The glucose drink is consumed after the initial finger-prick blood sample, with a second blood sample taken two hours later. The test has been developed by British digital clinical diagnostics and diabetes home testing provider, Digostics.The researchers said that with standard hospital-based OGTTs, children have to fast overnight, travel to a clinic early in the morning and undergo two blood draws.But the home device "immediately analyses both blood samples and shares accurate and timely results directly with the study teams." The team said it had been shown to be "as accurate as hospital-based OGTTs when used with adults."The test has already been successfully implemented at NHS trusts in Southeast England for the screening of gestational diabetes in pregnancy, with more than 2,500 women screened since its launch in February 2024. Type 1 diabetes is the most common childhood autoimmune disease, affecting around one in 350 children. Researchers said that in around 40% of children diagnosis was not made until the child was in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening complication. Dr Swaby said that even though early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes relies on OGTTs, "we know these tests are not well tolerated, especially by very young children."At-home testing could be a major breakthrough for reducing the burden of testing."
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
Cause of death revealed for mum who died on 'dream holiday' to Turkey before 'heart removed'
Beth Martin, 28, became delirious on arrival to Turkey and sadly died the following day. Her family claim her heart was removed after death. A shocking report has revealed the alleged cause of death for a British mum who died unexpectedly on a family holiday in Turkey - with her devastated family claiming that her heart was removed without their consent. Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, had flew to Turkey on April 27 with her husband Luke and their two young children, aged eight and five. However, within a day of what should have been an idyllic break, Beth began acting erratically and was rushed to hospital, reports the Mirror. Despite being transferred to intensive care, she tragically died the following day on April 28. Weeks on, a forensic report has emerged claiming to shed light on the sudden circumstances of her death. The report, issued by Turkey's Forensic Medicine Institution and cited by local news source Sozcu, states that Beth died from food poisoning and resultant complications and noted "no evidence" of any traumatic injury. The document by the Forensic Medicine Institution states: "It has been concluded that Martin's death occurred as a result of food poisoning and its complications." It detailed that comprehensive evaluations of Beth's heart have been performed and samples of her cardiac tissue are being transferred to UK officials today. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The day beth was raced to hospital, her husband Luke Martin was reportedly barred from seeing his wife and given only minimal information about her condition. In a shock twist, he later faced allegations of poisoning from Turking police and was interrogated, before being cleared of any wrongdoing. Luke shared the devastating task he faced on social media: "To top it off, I had to break the news to my babies that their mum isn't coming home. It broke me," he penned. "Two weeks ago, me, my wife and two kids set out for a family holiday to Turkey. Only three of us made it back. I lost my wife, my children lost their mum, we lost the biggest piece of the puzzle that was our family." A GoFundMe page set up by family members claims the Martins were kept in the dark about how critical Beth's condition was and that they were left to carry her body through the hospital in a bag. After facing more than two weeks of delays trying to bring Beth home, Luke claims he had to spend thousands of pounds flying her remains back to the UK with him. It has been reported that Turkish doctors has raised concerns about Beth's heart before her tragic death, yet her family asserts they were not informed. Relatives allege that a subsequent UK postmortem revealed her heart had been removed in Turkey without consent. Recounting his harrowing experience, Luke labelled it as "the worst and most traumatic week of [his] entire life", noting that losing his wife has shattered his family beyond expression.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'Cause of death' of Brit mum, 28, whose heart was removed after dying on holiday
Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, flew to Turkey with her husband and their two children for what was meant to be a dream getaway - but became delirious on arrival and died the following day A bombshell report has revealed the supposed cause of death of a British mum who died suddenly on a family holiday in Turkey - where she had her heart removed without her family's permission, her devastated loved ones claim. Beth Martin, 28, from Portsmouth, had flown out to Turkey on April 27 with her husband Luke and their two children, aged eight and five, for what was meant to be a dream getaway. But within 24 hours of arriving, she became delirious and was rushed to hospital. Despite being moved into intensive care, she tragically died the next day, on April 28. Now, weeks later, a forensic report has revealed the supposed cause of her sudden death. The findings, published by Turkey's Forensic Medicine Institution and reported by local outlet Sozcu, claim Beth died as a result of food poisoning and its complications, and found 'no evidence' of traumatic injury. The report, published by the Forensic Medicine Institution, said: 'It has been concluded that Martin's death occurred as a result of food poisoning and its complications.' It added that a full examination of Beth's heart had been completed, and that tissue samples from the heart are being handed back to UK authorities today. On the day Beth was admitted to hospital, her husband, Luke Martin, was allegedly banned from seeing his wife and given little to no information about her condition. He was then accused of poisoning her by Turkish police and subjected to interrogation - though later cleared of any wrongdoing. 'To top it off, I had to break the news to my babies that their mum isn't coming home. It broke me,' Luke wrote on social media. 'Two weeks ago, me, my wife and two kids set out for a family holiday to Turkey. Only three of us made it back. I lost my wife, my children lost their mum, we lost the biggest piece of the puzzle that was our family.' According to a GoFundMe page set up by relatives, the Martin family were left in the dark about the severity of Beth's condition and were forced to carry her body in a bag through the hospital. When told it could take more than two weeks to repatriate her remains, Luke paid thousands of pounds to bring her body back on the same flight as his. Doctors are understood to have raised concerns about Beth's heart before her death, but her loved ones say they were not made aware of what was happening. A UK post-mortem later confirmed her heart had been removed in Turkey without permission, according to her loved ones. Luke has since described the ordeal as 'the worst and most traumatic week of [his] entire life', adding that the loss of his wife has left the family shattered beyond words.
Metro
8 hours ago
- Metro
Turkey reveals 'cause of death' of Beth Martin who had ‘heart removed'
The cause of death of a British mum whose heart was secretly 'removed' during a family holiday in Turkey has been revealed. Beth Martin, 28, fell ill on a plane to Istanbul and was taken to a hospital, where she died the following day on April 29. An autopsy report in the UK found that Beth's heart had been removed after she died, something Turkey's health ministry denied. Turkish coroners could not identify a cause of death, with prosecutors requesting an autopsy of Beth's heart by a Turkish body that acts as an expert witness in justice issues, the Forensic Medicine Institution. The medical examination report, released today, said: 'It was concluded that Martin's death occurred as a result of food poisoning and its complications.' Examiners found no evidence that Beth died from 'traumatic effects', Turkish news agency AA reported. Beth's heart will be delivered to the UK today. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Easyjet launches 11 new flights from major UK airport to Greece, Spain, Portugal and more MORE: British dad says he 'almost died' after holiday in four-star Turkish hotel MORE: I trained with Olympians at a luxury resort — it wasn't what I expected
