The Acute and Chronic Complications track at the 77th Scientific Sessions includes more than two dozen symposia, state-of-the-art lectures, and special presentations that will keep clinicians abreast of the latest developments in treating and managing diabetic complications.

“It’s hard to keep up with the rapidly evolving body of information and to consolidate and translate it into clinical care for the person sitting in front of you,” said Jennifer Green, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University and Chief of Endocrinology for the Veterans Administration Medical Center. “The Acute and Chronic Complications theme area can be a one-stop shop to get all of the latest information and hear how we can best utilize these data to improve clinical care.”

Jennifer Green, MD

Dr. Green is part of the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee, planning sessions in the area of macrovascular complications . One of the macrovascular sessions she said she’s looking forward to is titled Update on Cardiovascular Outcomes Trials (CVOTs) on Friday, June 9 (2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.). The session will feature an update on SUSTAIN 6 (Semaglutide in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) and a look at how to best translate the CVOT findings into clinical practice.

Here are Dr. Green’s other must-attend sessions:

1:45 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Saturday, June 10
Diabetes, Drugs, and Heart Failure
“We will review the natural history and mechanics of heart failure in diabetes, then look at the impact of diabetes medications on heart failure — one of the newer antigyperglycemic agents, in fact, appears to have a beneficial impact. We will wrap it up with a discussion of how we can improve the care of patients with both type 2 diabetes and heart failure.”

12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Sunday, June 11
Making the Connection—Male Hypogonadism, Testosterone Replacement, and Diabetes
“Because our patients with diabetes are already at higher-than-average cardiovascular risk, the safety of testosterone replacement therapy is a frequently encountered management issue. Our speakers will discuss what we know with respect to the risks and benefits of testosterone replacement in men with diabetes.”

2:15 p.m.–2:45 p.m. Sunday
Edwin Bierman Award Lecture: Metabolic Karma and the Atherogenic Legacy of Diabetes
(presented during the Mechanisms and Modulators of Cardiovascular Complications session)
“The award winner, Mark Emmanuel Cooper, MBBS, PhD, Deputy Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, is well known for his research into the renin-angiotensin system, oxidative stress, and glycation in diabetes-associated atherosclerosis, as well as the effects of glucose fluctuation on the arterial vasculature.”

Foot Care/Lower Extremities

“This is the Foot Care Interest Group’s 30-year anniversary,” said Katherine Raspovic, DPM, Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. “Our anniversary symposium, Thirty-Year Anniversary of the Foot Care Interest Group – The Diabetic Foot, Then and Now [8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Saturday], will look at foot care since the 1980s and what the next 30 years might bring.”

Katherine Raspovic, DPM

Dr. Raspovic is a member of the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee, planning sessions on foot care/lower extremities. Here are her other must-attend sessions:

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Saturday
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs)—Fact or Fiction?
“The use of hyperbaric oxygen for DFUs has sparked a lot of debate in the community. We have a pro-con discussion that could spark a lot of interest.”

1:45 p.m.–2:15 p.m. Saturday
Roger Pecoraro Award Lecture: Addressing Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetic Foot Disease―Why It Is Important and How We Can Improve (presented during the Putting Our Best Foot Forward—The Latest in Diabetic Foot Research session)
“I’m excited for our winner this year, Dane K. Wukich, MD, the Dr. Charles F. Gregory Chair in Orthopedic Surgery at University of Texas Southwestern. He is the first orthopedic surgeon to receive this honor.”

8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Sunday
2017 Updates on Charcot Neuroarthropathy
“We have speakers focusing on the algorithm for Charcot treatment, along with the latest in Charcot pathogenesis, diagnostic imaging, and the impact of Charcot on healthcare costs and resource utilization.”

Hypoglycemia

On Tuesday, June 13, the symposium Hypoglycemic-Associated Autonomic Failure (HAAF) in Diabetes Revisited (7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.) will explore what’s known about HAAF in diabetes, the latest insights from rodent models and human neuroimaging studies, and the challenges of translating basic research into clinical therapy.

“Patients with diabetes who are exposed to recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia can lose their ability to recognize hypoglycemia symptoms and develop defective counter-regulatory hormonal response,” said the member of the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee planning sessions on hypoglycemia, Chair Amir Moheet, MBBS, Assistant Professor of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Minnesota. “For such patients, the first sign of hypoglycemia can be unconsciousness.”

Amir Moheet, MBBS

Another key hypoglycemia session is titled Physiology of Nervous System Detection of Hypoglycemia on Sunday (2:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m.). The symposium will review the latest findings examining the role of central and peripheral glucose sensors in hypoglycemia detection.

“Hypoglycemic detection at the brain involves a number of critical inputs beyond local glycemia,” Dr. Moheet said. “New research is directing more attention to the role of peripheral glucose sensors, as well as to astrocytes and hormone-sensitive afferents in the detection of hypoglycemia.”

Neuropathy

Neuropathy remains one of the most bothersome and variable complications of diabetes, according to the Scientific Sessions Meeting planning committee member in the area of neuropathy, Brian C. Callaghan, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Callaghan highlighted a Case Studies session on Monday, June 12 (2:15 p.m.–4:15 p.m.) titled Case-Based Management of Neuropathies.

Brian C. Callaghan, MD, MS

“We’re going through the common neurologic complications of diabetes in a case-based format to help clinicians more completely understand the best ways to take care of these patients incorporating ADA guidelines,” he said. “We will be focusing on distal symmetric polyneuropathy, pre-diabetic neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, and atypical neuropathies, as these are the most common clinical scenarios that physicians encounter.”

Here are Dr. Callaghan’s also suggests:

12:45 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Friday
Managing Diabetic Neuropathy—Science or Art?
“One of the presentations will discuss the new ADA guidelines for peripheral neuropathy and how they should affect clinical practice. The other presentation will explore the genetics of painful neuropathies, an emerging field as we uncover more and more genes linked with nerve pain.”

Nephropathy

The sessions planned in the area of nephropathy at this year’s Scientific Sessions are focused on the non-nephrologist, according to Chair Andrew S. Narva, MD, FACP, FASN, Director of the National Kidney Education Program at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Andrew S. Narva, MD, FACP, FASN

“Our symposia are intended to offer practical information that’s useful to any clinician taking care of patients with diabetes and kidney disease,” he said. “The Joint ADA/ASN Symposium – Effects of New Diabetic Treatments on Diabetic Kidney Disease on Sunday [4:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.] is particularly helpful given the evidence that some of the newer diabetes agents may have a direct effect on the progression of kidney disease separate from their hyperglycemic effects.”

Here are Dr. Narva’s other must-attend sessions:

4:15 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Friday
Urologic Complications and Sexual Dysfunction in Diabetes
“Speakers will address the epidemiology of urologic complications in people with diabetes, sexual dysfunction in men and women, bladder complications, and urinary tract infections. There’s a tremendous thirst among clinicians for information addressing these common and distressing complications that are often not well managed.”

8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Monday
Healthy Lifestyle Matters for Patients with Diabetes and Kidney Disease
“We will be addressing common issues and approaches for patients with both diabetes and kidney disease, including dietary choices, dietary supplements, herbals, and cultural traditions, and how they can impact disease management, physical activity, weight management, and smoking. These sorts of lifestyle and patient-centered issues are critical to reducing the burden of kidney disease among people with diabetes.”