The diabetes center at Eastern Maine Medical Center is participating in a nationwide effort to screen candidates for a four-year study of ways to delay or prevent diabetes in high-risk individuals.

During the course of the study, researchers will have screened 60,000 Americans with relatives who have Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. The researchers are assembling a large group of subjects who will participate in a study to measure whether people who take a low dose of insulin have less chance of developing diabetes.

Dr. Joan MacCracken, pediatric endocrinologist at EMMC, said she was encouraged by the possibility of delaying or preventing Type 1 diabetes. “This is still experimental, but it does have the potential for breaking some important ground for these patients and their families,” said MacCracken.

Two groups qualify for the screening: people between the ages of four and 45 who have a parent, sibling or child with Type 1 diabetes; and people between the ages of three and 20 who have a cousin, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle or grandparent with Type 1 diabetes.

The screening is free and requires a blood test drawn in Bangor. For more information, call the EMMC diabetes center at 945-7334.