#2018ADA diabetes meeting just the ticket for Aussies

Research

By Mardi Chapman

14 Jun 2018

A/Prof Sof Andrikopoulos

Orlando might be the theme park capital of the world but the big attraction in town for endocrinologists next week will be diabetes not Disney at the 78th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

The event comprises more than 180 sessions across eight themes including acute and chronic complications, behavioural medicine, therapeutics, epidemiology and genetics, immunology and transplantation, islet biology and more.

Australian Diabetes Society CEO Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos told the limbic he has been going to the ADA meeting almost every year since 1995.

“The meeting is usually very, very good. In general what we go for is for networking opportunities and to catch up with colleagues, and present data and information from an Australia context. There’s a lot of basic science presented and a lot of clinical research presented from Australians.”

He joked Australians typically have quite a prominent role in the meeting as ‘we’re usually the ones that get up and ask questions’.

Associate Professor Andrikopoulos said the ADS will be presenting a couple of posters on findings from the Australian National Diabetes Audit.

As well, his own research lab are presenting in the late-breaking sessions on new models of liver failure and on liver cell dysfunction.

“So we’ve manipulated a couple of genes either in the liver or in the islet and we can show that this gene in particular leads to a quite severe phenotype. It could be a target for future drug development.”

While he is not expecting any major clinical trials reporting his year, he said there would be updates on past clinical trials such as LEADER and EMPA-REG.

He said he is also looking forward to the demonstration of new technology such as the hybrid closed loops, hearing about new insulins, and ‘a fair bit of work around transplantation and islet cells’ from US peers.

“From the basic science point of view, they are our friends, our colleagues, our competitors…so its always good to go and hear what other people are doing and where they are up to in their research and also to exchange ideas.”

“From a clinical point of view, it’s extremely relevant. The ADA guidelines are what we follow and what we look for. Progress in clinical management of the disease, new technologies, new drugs – they are going to hit the US market and then they are going to be coming into the Australian market. The meeting is extremely relevant to us.”

The limbic will be reporting on #2018ADA from Orlando, 22-26 June. Follow our coverage on our website and on Twitter @thelimbicendo

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