Diabetes Insights - Breakthroughs and Innovators

EASD - European Association for the Study of Diabetes
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EASD presents: Diabetes Insights - Breakthroughs and Innovators Join us for expert interviews and discussions on the latest advances in diabetes research. Discover how groundbreaking medicines and cutting-edge technologies are shaping the future of diabetes treatment and management. Get inspired by the stories of distinguished researchers whose discoveries and contributions have transformed our understanding of diabetes. These podcasts were recorded at the EASD Annual Meeting 2024 in Madrid, Spain. You can learn more about the research discussed by watching the scientific presentations in the EASD Media Centre (https://www.easd.org/media-centre/home.html). New episode released every Friday.

  1. Dementia in Diabetes - Reasons for Hope or Concern?

    6D AGO

    Dementia in Diabetes - Reasons for Hope or Concern?

    In this episode, Prof. Gill Livingston (University College London) and Prof. Thomas van Sloten (UMC Utrecht) explore the complex relationship between diabetes and dementia. People with diabetes face a higher risk of cognitive decline, particularly those with type 2 diabetes, and as treatment improves and life expectancy increases, dementia is becoming a growing clinical challenge. The discussion examines how diabetes medications, including GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors, may influence cognitive outcomes, the role of lifestyle and vascular risk factors, and why prevention must become central to diabetes care. This episode also highlights the urgent need for clinical trials that include dementia and cognition as primary outcomes.

    13 min
  2. EASD Global Council: Making Diabetes Research & Care Equitable Worldwide

    FEB 6

    EASD Global Council: Making Diabetes Research & Care Equitable Worldwide

    In this episode, Professor Francesco Giorgino (EASD President) and Professor Leszek Czupryniak (EASD Global Council Advisor) introduce EASD's newest initiative: the Global Council, launched in Madrid in 2023. This 13-member council brings together diabetes experts from Asia, North and South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and underrepresented regions of Europe to provide direct, active contributions to EASD activities and address global challenges in diabetes research and care. The conversation addresses the urgent importance of diversity in diabetes data and research, particularly as political movements in some regions actively discourage it and explains how registries are essential for understanding diabetes epidemiology and care delivery across different contexts. Listen in to hear the announcement of a historic milestone: EASD's first new prize in nearly 60 years: the inaugural Global Impact Prize for Diabetes was awarded to Dr. Viswanathan Mohan from India for pioneering work in diabetes epidemiology and subtypes in Asia in 2025. Looking forward, the council is developing global structures for registries, supporting research development in underserved regions, and moving from hopes to concrete solutions.

    12 min
  3. EASD-ESC Joint Symposium: Hot Topics in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

    JAN 30

    EASD-ESC Joint Symposium: Hot Topics in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

    In this episode, a cardiologist, an epidemiologist and a diabetologist come together to discuss the deep and evolving links between diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The conversation explores heart failure as a common but often under-recognized complication of diabetes, how cardiovascular risk begins even before type 2 diabetes develops, and why modern therapies increasingly target multiple organs at once. The speakers highlight the importance of early detection, collaboration across specialties, and prevention as populations age and chronic disease patterns shift.

    14 min
  4. Diet and Exercise: When, How and What Matters?

    JAN 23

    Diet and Exercise: When, How and What Matters?

    In this episode, Prof. Frédéric Gachon and Prof. Olga Pivovarova-Ramich explore how the timing of eating and exercise influences metabolism and diabetes risk. Drawing on recent research in chronobiology, they discuss circadian rhythms, chronotype, late-night eating, intermittent fasting, and how aligning daily behaviours with our internal clocks may improve metabolic health and insulin sensitivity. Prof. Gachon and and Prof. Pivovarova-Ramich explore how eating late or at the wrong time disrupts your body’s rhythm, and how different chronotypes (early risers vs night owls) respond to meal timing. They also touch on the growing popularity of intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating, as well as exercise timing and its connection to performance and sleep. Listen in now to understand how the timing of diet and exercise can improve health outcomes, especially for individuals living with diabetes.

    13 min
  5. SURPASS-CVOT: A comparison of Tirzepatide and Dulaglutide

    JAN 16

    SURPASS-CVOT: A comparison of Tirzepatide and Dulaglutide

    In this weeks episode of Diabetes Insights - Breakthroughs and Innovators, experts discuss the highly anticipated SURPASS CVOT trial, a head-to-head cardiovascular outcomes study comparing tirzepatide 15 mg weekly with dulaglutide 1.5 mg weekly in people with type 2 diabetes. With over 13,000 participants, the trial demonstrates that tirzepatide provides equivalent cardioprotective benefits to dulaglutide, confirming its role in improving both glycaemic control and cardiovascular outcomes. EASD TV Host Vivienne Parry sits with Prof. Tina Vilsbøll (EASD Honorary Secretary) and Prof. Hertzel Gerstein (EASD Independent Advisor and McMaster University) to unpack the trial’s implications for clinical practice, highlighting how outcomes trials like this inform personalised medicine, integrate care between diabetologists and cardiologists, and generate new hypotheses in areas such as liver disease, cognitive function, and obesity management. This episode underscores the growing importance of transdisciplinary approaches in diabetes care, where therapies can target multiple complications simultaneously. Join us to understand how outcomes trials like SURPASS-CVOT are shaping guidelines, expanding treatment options, and improving care for people living with type 2 diabetes worldwide.

    10 min
  6. What are the Hot Topics in Diabetes Research from a Journal's Perspective - Diabetologia

    JAN 9

    What are the Hot Topics in Diabetes Research from a Journal's Perspective - Diabetologia

    In our first episode of 2026, Prof. Hindrik Mulder, Editor-in-Chief of Diabetologia, offers a journal’s-eye view of the most exciting and challenging developments in diabetes research today. Drawing on his unique overview of submissions from across the global research community, prof. Mulder discusses emerging breakthroughs such as hypoimmune stem cell-based therapies that are transforming from theoretical possibilities into scalable, off-the-shelf treatments for diabetes. Prof. Mulder discusses how these innovations could revolutionise diabetes care by overcoming the historical barriers of islet transplantation. We further explore Diabetologia's special 2025 issue on "Opportunities and Challenges in Diabetes," which tackles the critical issues of healthcare disparity, access, and equity. Prof. Mulder passionately addresses why diversity in research is essential to understanding disease heterogeneity and why the scientific community must continue advocating for inclusive research despite political headwinds. Learn about the journal's innovative approach to incorporating patient perspectives in research design, the appointment of a dedicated DEI editor, and the exciting launch of Metabologia - Diabetologia's new sister journal - covering the expanding landscape of metabolic disorders. This conversation reminds us that embracing complexity and acknowledging what we don't know is fundamental to advancing diabetes science.

    15 min
  7. SURPASSing Therapeutic Challenges of Paediatric Type 2 Diabetes with Tirzepatide

    12/19/2025

    SURPASSing Therapeutic Challenges of Paediatric Type 2 Diabetes with Tirzepatide

    In this episode, Dr. Tamara Hannon (Indiana University Health) and Prof. Martin Wabitsch (Universtätsklinikum Ulm) unpack the findings of the SURPASS-PEDS trial - the first study to evaluate the dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide in adolescents with type 2 diabetes. With youth-onset type 2 diabetes rising sharply across the US and Europe, and with young people experiencing faster beta-cell decline, more severe obesity, and greater socioeconomic burdens, the need for effective therapies has never been greater. They discuss why adolescent disease differs fundamentally from adult type 2 diabetes, why weight-loss expectations cannot be compared across age groups, and how tirzepatide not only reduces HbA1c but also halts the extreme weight-gain velocity commonly seen in this population. They also reflect on what early intervention could mean for long-term metabolic health, how guidelines may evolve, and how better treatment options could transform quality of life for young people living with type 2 diabetes. This conversation highlights why youth-onset type 2 diabetes is fundamentally different from adult disease, why weight loss behaves differently in children, and how early intervention could change the life course for young people at high risk of long-term complications.

    13 min
  8. The EASD's First Clinical Guideline: Assessment and Management of Diabetes Distress

    12/12/2025

    The EASD's First Clinical Guideline: Assessment and Management of Diabetes Distress

    In this episode, EASD presents its inaugural clinical guideline on diabetes distress. Drawing on two years of multidisciplinary work, the guideline was developed by clinicians, methodologists, psychologists and people with lived experience. Prof. Jane Speight, Prof. Richard Holt and patient-advocate Michelle Law describe what diabetes distress is (the emotional burden tied to daily self-management) and why routine assessment and supportive care must become part of standard practice. The guideline sets out eight good practice statements to help clinicians normalise conversations about emotional wellbeing, plus graded recommendations for managing distress in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Psychological interventions are endorsed where evidence supports them, and clinic-level actions that clinicians can deliver without referral are highlighted. The panel also discusses evidence gaps, the need for practical tools and training, and how people living with diabetes can drive implementation by asking for these conversations in clinic. Join EASD TV to hear how this guideline aims to transform diabetes care by putting emotional wellbeing alongside clinical outcomes.

    16 min
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About

EASD presents: Diabetes Insights - Breakthroughs and Innovators Join us for expert interviews and discussions on the latest advances in diabetes research. Discover how groundbreaking medicines and cutting-edge technologies are shaping the future of diabetes treatment and management. Get inspired by the stories of distinguished researchers whose discoveries and contributions have transformed our understanding of diabetes. These podcasts were recorded at the EASD Annual Meeting 2024 in Madrid, Spain. You can learn more about the research discussed by watching the scientific presentations in the EASD Media Centre (https://www.easd.org/media-centre/home.html). New episode released every Friday.

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