Advances and challenges in the management of diabetes, under debate at the CiMUS of the USC with specialists in obesity, heart, immunology, endocrinology and nutrition
It will take place on 14 November at 11:30 a.m. in the CiMUS Theatre room.
Coinciding with the commemoration of World Diabetes Day on Thursday 14 November, the CiMUS of the USC will bring together specialists from the Singular Centre and IDIS to share the main challenges and advances in the management of this disease. It will do so at a round table discussion with the participation of researchers Carlos Diéguez, Iria Gómez-Touriño, Miguel Ángel Martínez-Olmos, Ricardo Villa Bellosta and Rubén Nogueiras. They will be responsible for addressing the close relationship between diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular diseases, immunology, endocrinology and nutrition.
The opening of the conference will be attended by the Deputy Director General of University Scientific and Technological Promotion, Irene Bonome; the Director of the Department of Biochemistry of the USC, Jaime Gómez; the Director of the Department of Physiology of the USC, Juan Zalvide, and the Deputy Director of CiMUS, José Luis Labandeira. The round table discussion will take place on 14 November at 11:30 am in the CiMUS Theatre room.
A multidisciplinary disease
The cross-cutting nature of diabetes and its multidisciplinary nature mean that the members of the round table debate will include specialists in different areas. This is the case of Carlos Diéguez, coordinator of the CiMUS group, Functional Obesomics; Iria Gómez-Touriño, head of the Immunity and Small Molecules group; Miguel Ángel Martínez-Olmos, coordinator of the IDIS group Molecular Endocrinology; Ricardo Villa-Bellosta, coordinator of the CiMUS group Energy Homeostasis and Vascular Calcification and Rubén Nogueiras, in charge of leading the group of this Singular Centre, Molecular Metabolism.
As part of this debate, Ricardo Villa will take the opportunity to present the main results of a study published in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology that could change the approach to the treatment of cardiovascular complications in people with diabetes. A finding that suggests a potential way to prevent calcification in arteries and other blood vessels in people with diabetes, a breakthrough with significant implications for cardiovascular health.
Spain, the country with the second highest prevalence of diabetes in Europe
Diabetes mellitus has become one of the diseases causing the most deaths worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 1.5 million people have lost their lives worldwide due to this disease and it is estimated that 463 million people suffer from some form of diabetes, many of whom are under 14 years of age. To these figures must be added all undiagnosed cases of diabetes. By 2045, projections indicate that this figure could increase to 783 million diabetics worldwide.
In Spain, the prevalence of diabetes has reached 14.8%. It affects one in seven adults and is the second highest rate in Europe. Almost one third (30.3%) of people living with diabetes in Spain are undiagnosed. When diabetes is undetected or not properly treated, it can cause serious and life-threatening complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, kidney failure, blindness or lower limb amputation.
These complications reduce quality of life and increase healthcare costs. In view of this, Spain is one of the top ten countries in terms of health expenditure related to this pathology. It currently accounts for 8.2% of spending, reaching 8.6 billion euros between direct costs (5.8 billion euros) and indirect costs (2.8 billion euros).