Headwaters Health Care Centre, in partnership with the Hospital for Sick Children, is inviting adults and children who have relatives with type 1 diabetes to participate in an international research study on Wednesday, May 2, at the hospital's Orangeville site.

TrialNet is screening relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to find out if family members are at risk of developing diabetes. Screening for diabetes is done through a simple blood test. Participants will be notified of their results in four to six weeks.

If results are positive, TrialNet staff will call to discuss further testing.

Previous participants of TrialNet Natural History Study who are due for their annual re-screen blood draw should also attend the May 2 clinic.

To be eligible to be screened at no charge, you must be:

+ Between 1 and 45 years of age and be the mother, father, son, daughter, brother or sister of someone with type 1 diabetes, or

+ Between 1 and 20 years of age and be the aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, half sibling or grandchild of someone with type 1 diabetes

Relatives of people with type 1 diabetes have a 3-4 per cent chance of testing positive for autoantibodies associated with diabetes.

TrialNet representatives will be at Headwaters on May 2 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment, please call Lesley Eisel or Angela Roode at 1-866-699-1899 at the Hospital for Sick Children.

"The Diabetes Program at Headwaters Health Care Centre is pleased to offer this opportunity to our community," said Jane Blears, Diabetes Educator, RN.

TrialNet (www.diabetestrailnet. org) is a network of 18 clinical centres in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia/New Zealand dedicated to conducting diabetes prevention research and studying intervention therapies for children and adults.

The Hospital for Sick Children is coordinating the clinical screening program in Canada.

Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease that can affect both children and adults. It occurs when the body attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas, which makes insulin.

The body needs insulin, which is a hormone, to use food for energy.