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Personalized Medicine: DZD Authors Report in the Specialist Journal “Die Diabetologie”

Under the key topic “Personalized Medicine”, researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research report on the significance of precision medicine for diabetes mellitus in the specialist journal “Die Diabetologie”.

Die Diabetologie 02-2023 with articles from DZD on the topic of personalized medicine. © Springer Medizin Verlag

With precision medicine, a paradigm shift is emerging: The individual characteristics of each person are the deciding factors for tailored prevention, diagnostics, and treatment of their disease. This innovative strategy is based on all available genetic, biochemical, and clinical information on the respective patient.

Promising initial inroads have already been made in the field of diabetology with tailored measures for disease prevention, treatment, and delaying or impeding the development of complications. DZD researchers defined this as the key topic of the 02-2023 edition of the specialist journal Die Diabetologie, Springer Medizin Verlag.

Prediabetes and Diabetes Subtypes
Personalized medicine includes the classification of patients into prediabetes or diabetes subtypes. In recent years, DZD researchers have played a crucial role in the definition of these subtypes using valid biomarkers. Biomarkers are molecules that provide diagnostic or prognostic information. Automated techniques enable thousands of patient samples to be tested in a very short time, e.g., to look for special protein patterns. Nowadays, rapid sequencing of the complete genome is also possible. New data evaluation techniques, using big data and artificial intelligence, help interpret the findings.

Articles from DZD Experts

Mit präzisen Ansätzen die „patient journey“ optimieren
„Optimizing the patient journey using precision approaches”
A. Glaser, A. L. Birkenfeld, M. Roden, A. Schürmann, M. Solimena, M. Hrabě de Angelis

The editorial provides an overview of precision medicine in the field of diabetology and information on subsequent articles.


Präzisionsmedizin in der Diabetologie
“Precision medicine in diabetology”
Oana Patricia Zaharia, Christian Herder, Michael Roden

Autoimmunity, body mass index, beta cell function, and insulin sensitivity determine the classification of diabetes patients into 5 subtypes, each with a different incidence rate of diabetes-associated comorbidities and complications. A total of 6 subtypes have been identified in the prevention of diabetes, which differ with regard to the onset of the disease and the development of complications.


Einfache Einteilung der Subtypen des Diabetes in der Praxis
“Simple subtype classification in practice”
Andreas Fritsche

In the clinical setting, subtypes are identified via the C-peptide to blood glucose ratio.


Präzisionstherapie bei Diabetes mellitus Typ 2
“Precision therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus”
Juergen Graessler, Stefan R. Bornstein, Nikolaos Perakakis

What possibilities does precision medicine offer for high-risk type 2 diabetes patients? The article also discusses individual lifestyle changes, precision nutrition, and early pharmacological support.


Pharmakogenetik neuer Glukosespiegelsenker: eine Chance für die Präzisionsmedizin? (Open Access)
“The pharmacogenetics of new glucose-lowering medications: An opportunity for precision medicine?”
Anna-Therese Lehnich, Wolfgang Rathmann

Studies on new glucose-lowering medications, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, DPP-4, or SGLT-2 inhibitors, suggest they will be recommended in the future for personalized therapy. In the future, more can be achieved with the routine testing of clinical parameters.


Do-it-yourself-Therapie für Menschen mit Typ-1-Diabetes
“Do-it-yourself therapy for people with type 1 diabetes”
Nora Weinberger, Monika Pobiruchin, Andreas Fritsche, Silvia Woll

Closed-loop systems, i.e., artificial pancreas systems, give those with type 1 diabetes hope for tailored insulin administration. In Germany, these types of systems have only been on the market since autumn 2021. Previously, some patients had experimented with homemade systems. In this article, together with researchers, they explain how such technology improved their HbA1c levels and their quality of life.


Link to the Contents of “Die Diabetologie” - Edition 02-2023 (in German)