The Italian Parliament has passed a law to make it possible, from 2024, to prevent the occurrence of the most dangerous complications, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, in Italian children between 1 and 17 years old, who are destined to develop type 1 diabetes.
The law was celebrated at the October ISPAD annual conference in Rotterdam.
Screening programmes based on the measurement of circulating diabetes-associated autoantibodies have demonstrated that individuals that will progress toward disease development can be identified also in the general population.
The law also makes it possible to collect more information to better understand the disease and to introduce pharmacological strategies to slow and possibly stop the disease.
Advocacy Action – Can you advance the cause for T1 screening? Can you use the law passed in Italy to be considered by your government? You might only need guidelines rather than legislation to copy what is happening.