Dr. George Eisenbarth and other physicians at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver hope to involve as many as 10,000 people with a parent or sibling with Type I diabetes.

Type I diabetes is the most severe form of the disease. It typically becomes evident in childhood; Type II diabetes most often strikes obese middle-aged people.

People with Type I diabetes in their family are not sure to get the disease, which is the result of destruction of cells in the pancreas needed for the conversion of sugar into energy. The disease often strikes people with no family history of diabetes. But having a close family member who is diabetic raises the odds considerably.