Berlin, 30.05.2025

Prof. Dr. Annette Schürmann from the German Center for Diabetes Research and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) was honored this year with the Paul Langerhans Medal, the highest award of the German Diabetes Association (DDG). With this award, the DDG honors Prof. Schürmann’s extraordinary scientific life’s work in the field of diabetology. The award ceremony took place on May 30 as part of the DDG’s annual conference in Berlin.

Dresden, 13.05.2025

Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a condition that causes insufficient production of insulin, the glucose regulating hormone secreted by the pancreas. During an influx of glucose in the bloodstream, beta cells of the pancreas translate pre-existing insulin transcript variants (Ins1/2 mRNA) to produce the hormone. A current study by a research team led by scientists of the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the German Center for Diabetes Research investigated the mechanisms by which murine beta cells store Ins1/2 mRNA during resting blood glucose levels, which resemble a state of fasting.

Tübingen, 12.05.2025

Artificial sweeteners are virtually calorie-free and are increasingly being used in the food industry, for example in soft drinks. A study led by the University of Southern California (USC) and involving researchers from Tübingen provides information about the effects of excessive consumption of artificial sweeteners such as sucralose on the brain. Although calorie-free, sucralose has an appetizing effect on the brain, especially in people with obesity. Researchers from the University Hospital of Tübingen, Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) were involved in the study.

Potsdam-Rehbrücke, 06.05.2025

Our metabolic processes differ depending on the time of day and many of them are more active in the morning than in the evening. Although studies show that eating late in the day is associated with an increased risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases, little is known about how the time when we eat affects glucose metabolism and to what extent this is genetically defined. Prof. Olga Ramich from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) and her team recently investigated this in a twin cohort. The article was published in the journal 'eBioMedicine.'

Düsseldorf, 30.04.2025

A recent study furnishes evidence that in people without diabetes, six risk groups for cardiometabolic complications previously identified in middle-aged people can also be identified in older people. In cooperation with Helmholtz Munich, the researchers at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) also showed that there is a special risk group characterized by the combination of a high inflammatory load, a measure of silent inflammatory processes, and a high risk of type 2 diabetes and complications.

Düsseldorf, 30.04.2025

In a recently published study, researchers at the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) showed that automated insulin delivery (AID) systems can improve blood glucose control in people with type 1 diabetes compared to other insulin therapies. The systematic review analyzed 46 clinical studies with a total of 4,113 participants, making it the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

Neuherberg, 29.04.2025

Drugs that bind to and activate the receptors for the hormones GLP-1 and GIP are effective in the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Surprisingly, active substances are currently being developed that not only activate the GIP receptor (agonists) but also block it (antagonists). They also have a positive effect on body weight. A team from Helmholtz Munich, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) has now discovered that GIPR agonism and antagonism engage different mechanisms to decrease body weight and food intake. These new findings could pave the way for more targeted medication against obesity.

Tübingen / Verona, 04.03.2025

Globally more than 30% of the adult population has metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). People with MASLD and more so with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and MASLD-associated hepatic fibrosis can progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and extrahepatic cancers. However, MASLD is a heterogeneous disease regarding its pathophysiology and clinical outcomes. In a News & Views article in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology Norbert Stefan and Giovanni Targher discuss novel findings about this heterogeneity of MASLD and how future research applying data dimensionality reduction approaches might be beneficial for implementing precision medicine in MASLD.

Tübingen, 27.02.2025

The number of obese persons has grown significantly in recent decades, which presents significant difficulties for those who are impacted, healthcare systems, and those who provide treatment. The hormone insulin plays a key role in the development of obesity. Up until recently, there have been numerous signs indicating insulin causes neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, especially in the brain. A recent study by the University Hospital of Tübingen, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), and Helmholtz Munich offers intriguing new insights into the origins of type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as the brain's function as a critical control center.

Tübingen, 19.02.2025

A growing number of people have elevated blood sugar values, which is known as prediabetes, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. In a review article, DZD researchers from the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Munich at the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen and the Department of Internal Medicine IV at the University of Tübingen explain what prediabetes is, how many people are affected by it worldwide, and how type 2 diabetes can be prevented. In addition to weight reduction, prediabetes remission to normalized blood sugar values is particularly decisive.

Düsseldorf, 14.02.2025

Researchers from the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) and the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have studied the temporal pattern of insulin action on protein kinases in human muscle cells in detail for the first time. Their findings have now been published in the journal 'Nature Communications' and reveal previously unknown mechanisms that could be used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Aachen / Ulm, 11.02.2025

People with type 1 diabetes require continuous insulin treatment and must regularly measure their glucose levels. With open-loop therapies*, insulin administration is manually controlled, while hybrid closed-loop systems* automatically regulate insulin delivery. A study with the involvement of the German Center for Diabetes Research showed that hybrid closed-loop systems offer improved long-term blood sugar values (HbA1c levels) and a lower risk of hypoglycemic coma, but lead to a higher rate of diabetic ketoacidosis. The results were published in ‘The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology’.

Potsdam-Rehbrücke, 21.01.2025

Physical activity is not only important for fitness, but also for health. This is confirmed by a new study conducted under the direction of Prof. Dr. Maximilian Kleinert at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE). His team discovered that the protein PanK4 plays a crucial role in the energy metabolism of skeletal muscles. It regulates glucose uptake and fatty acid oxidation and is activated by physical exercise. The study suggests that PanK4 could be a promising approach for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. The results have now been published in the journal ‘Nature Communications.’

Dresden, 15.01.2025

The international Commission on Clinical Obesity is proposing a major revision of the diagnosis of obesity. The new approach goes beyond body mass index (BMI) and includes additional measurements of body fat as well as objective symptoms at the individual level. Researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) also participated in the Commission. The findings will be presented for the first time during an event held by ‘The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology’ in London on January 16 and will be published in a future article in the journal.

Dresden, 14.01.2025

People with prediabetes often develop diabetes, but many of them manage to reverse to normoglycemia. What determines these distinct outcomes? Can we identify biomarkers to predict the different trajectories of prediabetes? To address the questions above, researchers from the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of the German Center of Diabetes Research (DZD) and other collaborators made use of the DZD multicenter study PLIS (Prediabetes Lifestyle Intervention Study) to compare the proteomic and metabolomic signatures of patients with prediabetes following opposite trajectories, i.e. progressing to diabetes versus reversing to normoglycemia. The outcome of this work has now been published in the renowned journal 'Diabetes Care'.