Diabetes Insights - Breakthroughs and Innovators

In this episode, Prof. Chantal Mathieu and Prof. Francesco Dotta discuss two major European clinical trials presented at the EASD Annual Meeting: MELD-ATG and VERA-T1D.

Both studies were conducted through the INNODIA consortium, a large European collaboration aimed at identifying biomarkers and testing new disease-modifying therapies for type 1 diabetes.

The VERA-T1D trial investigated verapamil, a long-established cardiovascular drug, for its potential to preserve beta cell function after diagnosis. While the study narrowly missed its primary endpoint, the results provide important insights into disease heterogeneity and future combination therapies.

The MELD-ATG trial used an innovative adaptive trial design to identify an effective low dose of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), showing that a single low-dose infusion may help delay beta-cell decline in newly diagnosed patients.

Together, these studies highlight the rapid progress being made in type 1 diabetes research and the growing move toward precision medicine approaches.

In this episode, members of the EASD Committee on Clinical Affairs (CCA) discuss how clinical guidance is developed, reviewed and translated into real-world practice. CCA Chair, Prof. Richard Holt and Prof. Anne Peters explore the production of consensus reports, expert opinion documents and the EASD’s new guideline programme.

They discuss the first EASD guideline on diabetes distress, the upcoming guideline on continuous glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetes, and updates to the Type 1 diabetes consensus report. The conversation also highlights the critical role of patient involvement, public consultation and policy engagement in ensuring that guidance improves care across Europe and beyond.

In this episode, Prof. Nita Forouhi (University of Cambridge) and Prof. Michael Lean (University of Glasgow) explore the science behind nutrition, weight loss and type 2 diabetes remission. They discuss the role of ultra-processed foods, meat consumption and the importance of whole-food, minimally processed diets.

The conversation highlights groundbreaking research showing that substantial, intentional weight loss can reverse type 2 diabetes by reducing fat in organs like the liver, pancreas, and heart, restoring insulin sensitivity and pancreatic function.

They also tackle how to communicate evidence-based messages amid a flood of misinformation, and the importance of patient-centred research and guidance for real-world diabetes prevention and remission.

In this episode, experts from the University of Amsterdam (Prof. J. Hans de Vries), the University of Newcastle (Prof. James A.M. Shaw) and Deakin University (Prof. Jane Speight) explore one of the most feared complications of type 1 diabetes: severe hypoglycaemia.

While advances in continuous glucose monitoring and automated insulin delivery have reduced severe episodes by around 40%, they have not eliminated the problem. The discussion examines why technology has limits, the challenges of impaired awareness and when transplantation may be considered for people with recurrent severe hypoglycaemia.

The conversation also highlights the profound psychological burden of hypoglycaemia; from trauma and anxiety to the long-term impact of messaging around glucose targets and emphasises the importance of listening to people with diabetes when shaping future care.

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.