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6th Diabetes Patient Day: Strong visitor response

Along with current knowledge from medicine and research, high-level speakers at the Diabetes Patient Day presented tips and help for daily life with diabetes to some 120 visitors who had seized the opportunity for an active exchange with doctors and scientists. On Saturday, 18 May 2019, the Helmholtz Zentrum München Diabetes Information Service presented the sixth Diabetes Patient Day. The research centre, a partner within the DZD, wants to make its contribution to supporting the health competence of the people affected while providing them with assistance in better dealing with their disorder.

The DZD was also represented with an information stand at the Diabetes Patient Day. Source: DZD

The morning in the Klinikum rechts der Isar in Munich was completely dedicated to type 1 diabetes. Prof. Anette-G. Ziegler, head of the Institute of Diabetes Research at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, described how doctors today can already exam new-borns to determine the risk of type 1 diabetes and explained which approaches are available to prevent the onset of the autoimmune disease.

In the second presentation, Dr. Katharina Warncke, senior physician at the paediatric clinic in Munich-Schwabing, provided practical information as she explained how people with type 1 diabetes and their relatives can safely handle emergency situations such as low blood sugar and ketoacidosis.

So-called closed-loop systems imitate the body’s natural blood sugar regulation. They combine devices for continuous blood sugar monitoring with insulin pump systems, with the objective of completely automating the insulin supply in type 1 diabetes. None of these systems have been approved as medical devices on the German market yet. Should faulty systems result in damage to the health, liability issues would arise. Legal expert Oliver Ebert explained what patients, their relatives and also physicians need to keep in mind.

Exercise and diet - important pillars in type 2 diabetes therapy
After the lunch break, the focus was on type 2 diabetes. Felix Stegmüller, Zentrum für Prävention und Sportmedizin at TU München, stressed the importance of power and endurance training for people with type 2 diabetes. This was a fitting complement to the presentation of Prof. Seißler, head of the diabetes centre at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, who reported on new diabetes medicines.

In her talk, lecturer Dr. Kerstin Stemmer from the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity at the Helmholtz Zentrum München examined how the brain, genes, and metabolism interact. She explained how excess weight develops and which approaches research is currently pursuing to treat morbid obesity.

In closing, Hortense Pietsch, diabetes consultant, provided an overview of how to implement a healthy diet for people with diabetes, without prohibitions and with a great deal of motivation.
Booths from patient organizations, self-help groups, the DZD and other and research institutes rounded out the event.

You can find the complete programme of the 6th Dieabetes Patient Day here (in German)
The talks will also be presented here soon.