From mitochondrial function in mice to predicting and preventing pre-eclampsia in women, foot disease, obesity and clinical trials updates – there’s a broad range of topics up for discussion at the Australasian Diabetes Congress 2019.

Professor Josephine Forbes, co-chair of the Program Organising Committee, told the limbic they’ve made a point of inviting some of the international heavy-hitters in recent clinical trials.

“One of the things that was really prominent recently was the announcement of the first type 1 diabetes prevention trial so we are featuring that investigator, Professor Kevan Herold from Yale University on behalf of the Type 2 Diabetes TrialNet Study Group.” (Wed, 11am)

Professor Forbes said the trial’s findings paves the way for the FDA to open up pathways for therapies in the type 1 diabetes prevention space.

Day 1 of the Congress also features investigators from two of the biggest international trials of new agents.

Dr Julio Rosenstock, who led the CARMELINA trial of DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin and Dr Hertzel Gerstein from the REWIND study of  GLP-1 agonist dulaglutide will share insights from the studies in one of the ADS Clinical Symposiums. (Wed, 11.50am)

“Certainly we are going to talk about SGLT2 inhibitors but we are very much featuring these new agents,” Professor Forbes said.

Dr Rosenstock will later deliver an ADS Plenary Lecture on SGLT inhibition in type 1 diabetes (Thurs, 2pm).

Professor Forbes, from the Mater Research Institute, will have the opportunity to introduce Israeli microbiome investigator Professor Eran Elinav in an ADS Plenary Lecture (Wed, 2pm). He will also speak on probiotics in a Bench to Bedside symposium on the microbiome (Friday, 9am).

In addition, delegates can look forward to some novel Australian research in an update on Skinsulin by Professor Toby Coates. (Thurs, 2.30pm)

“Instead of islet transplantation which would traditionally inject islets into somebody’s portal vein, this is testing these really unique skin scaffolds. The beauty of that is to avoid the complications of putting islets into the liver and also, instead of having to give immunosuppression to the whole person, with Skinsulin implants you only need topical immunosuppression.”

The Asia-Pacific Diabetes and Obesity Study Group is running a concurrent stream which ADS delegates are welcome to attend.

“That will beautifully complement some of what we’re doing,” Professor Forbes said.

The program will also feature:

• projects supported by the Diabetes Australia Research Program and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
• an ADS Symposium on the diabetic foot (Wed, 1.30pm)
• Young investigator sessions (Wed, 3.30pm)

The social program includes the Welcome Reception (Wed, 5.30pm), Congress Dinner (Thurs, 7pm) featuring a Welcome to the Jungle theme, and a Fun Run/Walk (Friday, 6.30am).

The Congress will be held at the International Convention Centre, Sydney 21 -23 August. Follow the limbic’s coverage on our site or on Twitter using the Congress hashtag #19ADC.