It's almost time! The American Diabetes Association's 69th Scientific Sessions are set to begin next week in New Orleans, and I can't wait.
For five days, June 5-9, I'll be blogging from the world's largest meeting of diabetes researchers, educators and health professionals. I'll attend as many of the zillions of symposia, oral presentations poster presentations, press conferences and major lectures as I possibly can, and will do my best to distill what I hear and tell you about it.
Quick Background
This is the second year I've been asked by ADA to report on the news of the meeting through this blog. (To learn a bit more about me, here's a short profile.)
Back when I worked at USA Today, covering diabetes and other medical topics, I attended many ADA meetings and was lucky to get a story or two into the paper each day of the meeting. Now, I'm unleashed -- and raring to go.
What to Expect I'll report on the most exciting research - the momentous and the offbeat - that could directly affect you and those you care about, along with news about potential new strategies to improve diabetes treatment and prevent complications. I'll show you some of the most innovative new products previewed during the meeting, and I'll take you with me into the ADA's newsroom, where reporters from around the world interview experts and hammer out their stories. We'll sit in on a press conference and have one-on-one interviews with leading thinkers in the field of diabetes research. How This Meeting Could Affect You
Dr. Sue Kirkman, ADA's vice president for clinical affairs, offered a few hints about what news will come out of the meeting.
Among hot topics: results of major studies on cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes; reports on diabetes complications - the ones that don't get much press but that people with diabetes cope with every day; children and diabetes, both type 1 and type 2; and bariatric surgery. "The meeting spans the whole spectrum of research,'' she says, "from test tube studies to long-term clinical trials, to research on how best to put new advances in diabetes care into action to help patients in the real world." Just How Large is This Meeting? The meeting itself is gigantic. Consider:
It's a little daunting but very energizing and I hope you'll share my excitement and come along for the ride!
