In addition to providing compassionate, state-of-the-art care to children with diabetes,
Winthrop is at the forefront of research into the causes and treatment of diabetes.
For example, Siham Accacha, MD, Chief of Winthrop's Pediatric Diabetes Program
and Principal Investigator in the DiaPrevent Clinical Trial, is working with her
colleagues at Winthrop to test the investigational Diamyd vaccine. This multi-center
clinical trial will determine if this new pharmaceutical development can help pediatric
patients who have recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes preserve their
capability to produce insulin.
Dr. Accacha is also a Principal Investigator for the TrialNet Natural History
Study, a multi-center study through which she and other members of the Winthrop
team test relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes for an antibody known to be a
predictor of the development of diabetes. By tracking these family members, the
researchers hope to learn more about how type 1 diabetes occurs.
To combat the epidemics of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes, Warren
Rosenfeld, MD, Chairman of Winthrop's Department of Pediatrics, is a Principal
Investigator for the Reduced Obesity and Diabetes (ROAD) Study – a multi-center
study that analyzes the effects of school health, nutrition and exercise programs on
middle school students' risk for type 2 diabetes. Dr. Rosenfeld and other researchers,
including several at Winthrop, are working on the hypothesis that integrating programs
that encourage healthy living into students' daily activities will reduce their
risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
"Ask any parent of a child with diabetes or any person who lives with diabetes
what they hope for and you will hear the same emotional refrain: ‘find a cure,'"
said Virginia Peragallo-Dittko, RN, Executive Director of Winthrop's Diabetes and
Obesity Institute. "In addition to the present research efforts, the future of both
clinical and basic science research at Winthrop will fully explore the physiological
and biomedical aspects of diabetes, confront the epidemic of diabetes and find new
ways to improve the lives of people with diabetes."
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Vol. 21, No. 1
Winter/Spring 2011
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