The prevalence of pancreatic diseases in a diabetic population
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The incidence of pancreatic diseases in newly diagnosed diabetics
IRAS ID
259009
Contact name
Alistair Makin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 21 days
Research summary
Background
The pancreas is an organ inside the body with two main functions. It produces digestive enzymes which help in the breakdown of food in the digestive system, and hormones, especially insulin, which control blood sugar levels and energy use in the body.
Diseases that affect the pancreas are difficult to diagnose. The most important are persistent damage and inflammation (chronic pancreatitis) and pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the disease is often advanced by time of diagnosis.
There is some evidence that people with recently diagnosed diabetes have an increased risk of both these conditions. This is more likely when diabetes has been diagnosed in the past few years. This needs to be better understood and the proposed research will contribute to this question. This may open pathways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.Research Questions
We seek to answer two connected questions:
How common are pancreatic diseases in people who have diabetes?
What is the best way to identify these diseases at an early stage in diabetes?
Research Plan
We aim to identify people with diabetes who have no symptoms of inflammation in the pancreas or of cancer. We will invite them to have a panel of relevant blood tests, (measuring nutritional and inflammatory markers as well as markers of the status of their diabetes) and a faecal sample to assess their pancreatic function. Participants will also be invited to attend for a specialised test, in which a camera (endoscope) is inserted by the mouth into the stomach, and from where extremely detailed pictures can be taken (endoscopic ultrasound) to assess the pancreas which sits just behind the stomach.
Anticipated outcomes
The analysis of the results will help us to understand how common pancreatic problems are in people with diabetes, and the usefulness of the blood, stool and endoscopic scanning tests in people with diabetes.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0334
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jul 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion