VACCINE to stop children developing diabetes could be created as a result of new research, scientists said yesterday.

A study carried out by a pathologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary revealed a link between a family of viruses in the pancreas and Type 1 diabetes.

The work done over the past 25 years could now lead to a vaccine to stop children developing the condition.

Dr Alan Foulis, who led the study, said: "There is nothing I am doing that could cure diabetes, but the work I am doing is to try to prevent the process starting at all.

"The idea of a vaccine and being able to prevent this disease would be my life's work in research."

Diabetes UK last night said the research was a "big step forward" in understanding what triggers Type 1 diabetes.

Scotland has the thirdhighest incidence of Type 1 diabetes in the world, behind Finland and Sardinia, and 27,106 people currently have it in this country.

It has long been thought that viruses play a role in causing diabetes by killing islet cells or beta cells in the pancreas, which make the insulin the body needs.

The researchers at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the Peninsula Medical School in the south west of England and the University of Brighton, tested the pancreases of 72 young patients who died of Type 1 diabetes in the past 25 years.

The research findings, published in the journal Diabetologia, show that in 60per cent of cases the children's organs contained evidence of infection by enteroviruses in the islet cells.

By contrast, infected cells were hardly ever seen in tissues from 50 children who had not been diabetic.

This suggests the infection in children genetically predisposed to diabetes may lead the body's immune system to judge beta cells as "foreign" and so reject them.

A further extension of the study to adults with Type 2 diabetes showed that 40per cent also had enteroviral infection in their beta cells. However, a link has not been totally established and it does not mean that lifestyle and obesity do not contribute to the disease.

Dr Foulis said: "The most significant finding early on was that the cells that make insulin, the beta cells, also in this disease made a substance called Interferon. This is made by cells when they are infected by a virus.

"And so 60per cent of children with Type 1 diabetes at presentation appear to have the virus in their beta cells, and in other children who don't have diabetes it is very uncommon to find that."

Scientists will now try to establish which enteroviruses are involved in the process as there are more than 100 different strains.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at leading health charity Diabetes UK, said: "We've known for some time that Type 1 diabetes cannot be explained by genetics alone and that other, environmental triggers may also play a part.

"The next steps to identify the viruses and find out what they are doing to the infected beta cells will be hugely exciting and will take us a step closer to preventing Type 1 diabetes."

How to identify the condition

. Type 1 diabetes develops when the body is unable to produce insulin because cells in the pancreas have been destroyed.

. It is treated with insulin replacement therapy - usually by injection - along with careful attention to dietary requirements and frequent monitoring of blood glucose levels.

It usually affects those under the age of 40.

Type 1 diabetes accounts for up to 15per cent of those diagnosed with diabetes.

. The number of people diagnosed with the condition in Scotland has increased from 16,922 in 2001 to 27,106 in 2007.

. Symptoms are: increased thirst; frequent urination, both day and night; extreme tiredness; weight loss; blurred vision; genital itching or regular episodes of thrush; slow healing of wounds.

. The symptoms are usually very obvious, developing quickly, usually over a few weeks.

. Short-term complications include the risk of a hypoglycaemia or "hypo". This occurs when a patient's blood glucose level falls too low. If left untreated, a patient suffering from a "hypo" can become unconscious.

. Over the long term the condition can cause a range of problems, such as the development of cardiovascular disease and retinopathy. Other complications include long-term damage to the kidneys and nerves.

'Mum, I wish I didn't have it'

CASE STUDY

CALUM Dunan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in September after the eight-year-old, from Kelvindale, Glasgow, began experiencing some of the tell-tale symptoms, drinking excessively and wetting his bed at night over the course of just three days.

His parents, Robert and Julie, both 42, initially thought he may be suffering from a urinary tract infection and sought advice from their GP. A test showed he had a blood glucose reading of around 25. The normal level is between four and eight.

Calum, who has a six-yearold sister Jenny, was referred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow, and was shown how to inject himself with insulin. He now receives five injections a day.

Mrs Dunan said that because the symptoms had been identified at such an early stage, there were no long-term complications, but she and her husband were "devastated" by the diagnosis. The family has begun to adjust to life with Calum's diabetes and, by monitoring his blood sugar levels, he is able to continue playing tennis and carry on with other activities.

Mrs Dunan said: "We are trying to be positive but it has affected our home life. We have to have a plan of action of where we are going, what we are doing, what we will be eating . He has dealt with it very well, although he does get irritated slightly because it does affect his life. He sometimes says to me, 'Mum I wish I didn't have it'. But it is just one of those things."

Mrs Dunan said the prospect of a vaccine to prevent Type 1 diabetes was "absolutely amazing".