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2022: Nordic DIABESITY at Solstrand

The Nordic DIABESITY meeting held on March 9-11 at Solstrand (Norway) gathered top diabetes and obesity experts from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, as well as international scientists from abroad to discuss new approaches and ways of thinking for subsegmentation of diabetes and obesity.

Diabesity Nordic
Photo:
UiB

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Professor José Florez re-emphasized that "people with diabetes come with different flavors, and that we diagnose and treat diabetes at the end of the disease, and not at the beginning". He also highlighted that wee need biomarkers to monitor the individual conditions over time.

Diabesity Congress José Florez

Producer:
Det medisinske fakultet (UiB)

Professor Pål R. Njølstad adressed an important aspect of "the uniqueness of Nordic diabetes registries being homogeneous and easy to link". This is an asset in diagnostic investigations in patients with diabetes. Often, clinical features of patients are unclear, and patients are often misdiagnosed, like in the case of monogenic forms of diabetes.

Professor Allan Vaag looked at the bottom of metabolic programming grounded in fetal environment and said that there was little overlap between type 2 diabetes genetics and birth weight. Individuals with low birth weight have increased fat liver content, irrespectively of normal diet and exercise. In his opinion, fetal environment might be coupled to a predisposition to insulin resistant subtypes of diabetes.

Diabesity Congress Allan Vaag

Producer:
Det medisinske fakultet (UiB)

How to fill the gap between surgical treatment and oral anti-obesity treatment was adressed by professor Matthias Blüher. He also emphasized the contribution of a number of organic pollutants and endocrine disruptors used in food packaging, toys and medical items. Accumulation of xenobiotics in fat tissue may target the development of obesity.

Professor Lora Heisler talked about the appetite-regulating role of serotonin in the brain. Strong correlations between serotonin and eating habits has been reported, and while Lorcaserin showed a small effect in prediabetes and normoglycemia, it prevented the development of new cases of diabetes and imrpoved glycemic control in patients with diabetes. The potential mode of action could be through insulin sensitivity and reduction of endogenous glucose production.

Concluding the session, professor Per-Henrik Groop held a lecture demonstrating the crucial role of hypoxia as a culprit in the development of kidney complications in patients with diabetes. Intervention studies are under way to target this mechanism.

Andreas Mathisen was awarded the "Molecular Metabolism Early Career Research" prize. Congratulations!