An international research group headed by scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum München has developed a method for calculating the risk for developing type 1 diabetes that is significantly superior to earlier methods. By analyzing up to 41 gene sites, it is possible to identify children at birth who are at least 25-times more likely to develop type 1 diabetes. The test is already being used in a type 1 diabetes prevention project across Europe. The work, published in ‘PLOS Medicine’, could also serve as a model for other diseases that are associated with multiple genes.
