Diabetes Discourse

Prediabetes may signal more than the future development of diabetes; it can also provide an opportunity to identify and address cardiovascular risk earlier. Here to recap his presentation at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting is Dr. John Ostrominski, preventive cardiologist and obesity medicine specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ostrominski explains how cardiovascular risk assessment can inform individualized prevention strategies and why risk-reduction efforts should not wait until diabetes develops.

How might diet and exercise influence metabolic outcomes among patients taking GLP-1 medicines? To find out, we recently spoke with Dr. Laura Chiavaroli, who discussed this topic at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting. She shares emerging evidence on combining lifestyle interventions with GLP-1 therapy and highlights where gaps in research still remain. Dr. Chiavaroli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and an affiliate scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Residual beta cells may persist after a type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis, but how well do they continue to function? Tune in to hear Dr. Edward Phelps discuss research he presented at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting that examined glucose-stimulated calcium responses in living pancreatic tissue from donors with recent-onset T1D. He explains how residual beta cells showed impaired responses to glucose regardless of the local presence of T cells, suggesting that beta cell dysfunction may extend beyond islets with substantial immune cell infiltration. Dr. Phelps is an Associate Professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.

Cellular interactions within pancreatic islets may provide important insights into the early stages and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Tune in to hear Dr. Vira Kravets share research she presented at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting, which focused on how alpha-beta cell proximity influences GLP-1R-mediated communication as well as the spatial association between alpha cells and T cells in human islets. Dr. Kravets is an Assistant Professor in the University of California San Diego Department of Bioengineering and holds a secondary appointment in the Division of Endocrinology within the Department of Pediatrics at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Despite advances in type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, key questions remain about disease progression, immune mechanisms, and the optimal timing of intervention. Here to explore how immunology and islet research could help address these knowledge gaps is Dr. Edward Phelps. He’s an Associate Professor in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.

For patients with type 2 diabetes, the latest American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) guidance supports tailoring hypertension treatment to individual risk profiles. Dr. Scott Isaacs joins us to review updated blood pressure targets, first-line therapies, and management considerations for patients at increased risk. He's the Immediate Past President of the AACE and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.

New findings from the SYNCHRONIZE-1 trial reveal that survodutide's impact extends beyond weight reduction, with a demonstrated decrease in liver fat and meaningful improvements across multiple markers of metabolic health in patients without type 2 diabetes. Dr. Carel le Roux joins us to share the efficacy and safety data and explore what these results could mean for the future of metabolic disease management. Dr. Le Roux is the Director of the Metabolic Medicine Group and a Professor of Chemical Pathology in the School of Medicine at University College Dublin, and he presented these findings at the 2026 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions.

Cost-related medication nonadherence remains a significant but often hidden barrier to effective diabetes care, with out-of-pocket costs preventing patients from accessing essential therapies. Dr. Kimberly Narain joins us to explain why clinicians should look beyond insurance status alone and consider affordability challenges when developing strategies to improve diabetes outcomes. Dr. Narain is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, as well as the Director of Health Services and Health Optimization Research at the Iris Cantor UCLA Women's Health Center. She also spoke about this topic at the 2026 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions.

Despite advances in glycemic management, blood pressure control, lipid lowering, and disease-modifying therapies, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes continue to face substantial residual cardiovascular risk. In this program, Dr. John Ostrominski reviews emerging evidence linking low-grade systemic inflammation to adverse cardiovascular outcomes in this high-risk population, highlighting findings from the FIDELITY pooled analysis of FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD. Dr. Ostrominski is a fellow specializing in cardiovascular disease and obesity medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He spoke about this topic at the 2026 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions.

Can older adults successfully engage with telehealth, wearable technology, and digital health tools to prevent type 2 diabetes? In this conversation with Dr. Steve Jackson, Dr. Emily Johnston and Dr. Souptik Barua discuss emerging insights on how these strategies could improve accessibility and engagement in a high-risk population. Dr. Johnston is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, and Dr. Barua is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Precision Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. They presented these findings at the 2026 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions.