Neuherberg, 04.05.2021

DZD at the Diabetes Congress: New Approaches to Precision Diabetes Therapy and Prevention

Under the motto "Precision Medicine - a Journey into the Future of Diabetology", the 55th Annual Meeting of the German Diabetes Society (DDG) will take place digitally from May 12th. The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is not only organizing four symposia at the congress, but is also presenting its interdisciplinary, translational research as well as its information services in numerous lectures and talks. An important focus of the DZD is on new approaches for precision diabetes therapy and prevention.

"One of the DZD's goals is to develop precise prevention and therapy measures, i.e. the right prevention or treatment for the right group of people at the right time. In recent years, the DZD has made important breakthroughs here, such as the identification of prediabetes subtypes. This is an important step towards precision medicine in the prevention of diabetes and its concomitant diseases," said Professor Martin Hrabě de Angelis, DZD board member and director of the Institute of Experimental Genetics at Helmholtz Zentrum München and professor at Technische Universität München. Selected research highlights will be presented at the Diabetes Congress in four DZD symposia.

Not everyone is the same – Individualized approaches? 
Not all diabetes is the same - the course of the metabolic disease is not the same in all patients. Current research results, including those from the DZD, confirm that patients with prediabetes and diabetes do not constitute homogeneous groups. There are various subtypes that differ significantly in their risk of secondary diseases. In the symposium chaired by Professor Martin Hrabě de Angelis and DZD researcher Professor Andreas Fritsche (IDM, Tübingen), leading scientists will give an insight into the further characterization of the different subgroups. The experts will also present new concepts and initial results for the development of individual therapy approaches and preventive measures.
May 13, 2021 8:30 - 10:00 AM,  Room 5  


Complications – A new era 
Diabetes can lead to various serious complications such as diabetic foot, eye diseases, kidney dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and occasionally cancer. These secondary diseases are largely responsible for the increased mortality in diabetic patients. The symposium chaired by DZD researchers Stephan Herzig and Andreas Peters (both from Helmholtz Zentrum München) will shed light on new prediction possibilities and patient sub-classifications for the development of diabetic late complications. Furthermore, in addition to the classic complications, novel secondary diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis and cancer will also be discussed.
May 13, 2021 3:00 - 4:30 PM, Room 1  
 

Neurobiology of eating behavior  
What influence does the brain have on our eating behavior? Which cognitive and neural bases of decision-making play a role in obesity? What connections are there between diet, brain function and metabolism? How does obesity surgery affect regions of the brain that control eating behavior? These and other questions on the neurobiology of eating behavior are the focus of the symposium chaired by Professor Hans-Ulrich Häring (former board member of the DZD) and DZD researcher Dr. Heike Vogel (DIfE).
May 15, 2021 9:00 - 10:30 AM, Room 2  


Beta cell (dys)function
Type 2 diabetes is not only characterized by insulin resistance, but also by the fact that the pancreas produces less insulin. The cause of this is a dysfunction of the beta cells. These and other current research results on the beta cell will be presented in the symposium chaired by DZD spokesman Professor Michele Solimena and Professor Jochen Seißler. Current data on the development of beta cells and their ability to regenerate will also be presented, as well as new findings on how the liver, together with fat cells located in the pancreas, can influence insulin function in humans.  
May 15, 2021 9:00 - 10:30 AM, Room 5  

In addition, the DZD will present research highlights from the areas of type 1 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in diabetes, diabetes therapy options, new molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance, environmental influences on diabetes risk, modulation of brain signals in obesity and diabetes and (epi)genetic control in diabetes. On Saturday, the DZD will also present the further education offers of the diabetes information portal www.diabinfo.de for professionals in the session "Current developments in diabetology: pros and cons (further education for diabetic advisors and diabetes assistants)" starting at 11:55 AM.

Further information on DDG Diabetes Congress 

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is one of six German Centers for Health Research. It brings together experts in the field of diabetes research and combines basic research, epidemiology and clinical application. By adopting a novel, integrative approach to research, the DZD aims to make a substantial contribution to the successful, personalized prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. The members of the association are Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health, the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) in Düsseldorf, the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) in Potsdam-Rehbruecke, the Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Tübingen, and the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of TU Dresden, associated partners at the universities in Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck and Munich, as well as other project partners. 

Press contact

Birgit Niesing


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