A major diabetes study is now looking to recruit patients from across Forth Valley. Known as GoDARTS, the study is seeking help from people who have been diagnosed with diabetes within the past two years.

The study is an extension of research carried out in Tayside over the past 20 years which has examined how the disease develops and some of the reasons it varies from patient to patient. It has resulted in a database of information which has been made available to researchers worldwide and helped to define genetic factors related to diabetes, including susceptibility, complications and response to treatment.

Now the study is rolling out to other areas, including Forth Valley, as part of a bid to recruit a further 6,000 patients.

Ewan Pearson, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Dundee, who is leading the study, said: “By working with patients who have only recently been diagnosed with diabetes we can look at progression of the disease and how they are responding to treatment.  One of our main interests is in how people respond to metformin, the most commonly prescribed diabetes medicine.

“What we envisage is a future where, when someone is diagnosed with diabetes, we can better predict the effect the disease is going to have on them and therefore how we can best manage and treat it.”

Patients who join the study are asked to make one or two visits to the outpatients department at Forth Valley Royal Hospital each lasting around 30 minutes.

NHS Forth Valley Diabetes Research Nurse, Margaret Duncan, explained: “We carry out blood pressure checks, take blood samples and measure height, weight and waist and hip circumference.  With an increasing number of people being diagnosed with diabetes this research is very valuable. It will help improve the way we deliver diabetes care and will also have a positive impact on health outcomes in the future.”

The study is being conducted with funding from The Wellcome Trust and the support of the Scottish Diabetes Research Network.

Anyone interested in joining the study should telephone 01324 566929 or email Margaret.duncan5@nhs.net