Media Advisory - Canadian Diabetes Association highlights the latest in diabetes research

Discoveries that can lead to better care

WINNIPEG, Oct. 16, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (CSEM) will hold their 17^th annual Professional Conference and Annual Meetings in Winnipeg from October 22 to 25, 2014. The conference brings together top health-care professionals and scientists from across Canada to share the latest research into the understanding, care and management of diabetes.

Media can attend sessions. Interviews with many of the presenters can be arranged either in advance or during the conference.

Where:	RBC Convention Centre 375 York Avenue
	Winnipeg, Manitoba
	Follow us on Twitter @DiabetesAssoc and #cda14
When:	Wednesday, October 22 to Saturday, October 25, 2014

Select conference highlights:

Moving Beyond Diet and Exercise (Thursday, October 23 at 8:30 a.m.)

The evolution of type 2 diabetes over the past 30 years has included an increasing number of children worldwide. Using a broad approach beyond diet and exercise, Dr. Heather Dean, MD, FRCPC (Winnipeg, Manitoba), looks at how factors such as the intrauterine environment, pregnancy, stress and family history can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and how these findings can be applied to larger populations around the world.

A Health-Centred Approach to Diabetes Management (Thursday, October 23 at 10:30 a.m.)

Michael Vallis, PhD, R Psych (Halifax, Nova Scotia), addresses the emotional and psychological challenges of diabetes and the importance of understanding those challenges. Vallis' research shows that as many as 50 per cent of those diagnosed with diabetes experience "diabetes distress" as they manage the stress and emotion of living with the disease.

Rethinking Behaviour Change for Youth with Type 2 Diabetes (Thursday, October 23 at 4:30 p.m.)

Long considered an adult-only disease, type 2 diabetes is now being diagnosed among children. Jonathan McGavock, PhD (Winnipeg, Manitoba), who specializes in diabetes prevention and management in young Aboriginal populations, presents a fresh look at preventing type 2 diabetes in youth. His talk will focus on the under-recognized social determinants of health as the keys to diabetes management in youth, proposing a novel model for eliciting behaviour change in youth.

Understanding and Prevention of Complications in Type 1 Diabetes (Friday, October 24 at 8 a.m.)

More than 30 years of research has resulted in a landmark study on diabetes control and complications. Dr. Bernard Zinman, CM, MD, FACP, FRCPC (Toronto, Ontario), will discuss how this study demonstrates that the complications of diabetes can be dramatically reduced when intensive diabetes management is used as compared to conventional therapy of the time.

Breaking Discoveries in Diabetes (Friday, October 24 at 2 p.m.)

Can changing the nature of the doctor-patient relationship promote positive change? Josie Geller, PhD, R Psych (Vancouver, British Columbia), is researching motivational interviewing and how the dynamic between a patient and health-care provider can be influenced by the extent to which we use a curious, open style communication in relating to both our patients and ourselves, leading to better results in diabetes care.

Inspirational Address (Saturday, October 25 at 9:00 a.m.)

Olympic gold medal winner, Jennifer Jones, will present the Isabel Lockerbie Address. Jones, who is Canada's most decorated and recognizable female curling athlete, will speak about her Olympic journey and how diabetes has affected her own family.

The Mythology of Modern-Day Dieting (Saturday, October 25 at 10:30 a.m.)

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, MD, CCFP (Ottawa, Ontario), provides health-care practitioners with the ammunition they need to bust myths that lead patients to embark on dangerous and traumatic dieting efforts. He will identify common myths that lead dieters to fail and criticize the notion that scales measure health, effort, or success.

About the CDA
More than nine million Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes, and the CDA is the registered charity that helps them manage their disease as effectively as possible while also seeking to help Canadians in preventing or delaying the development of type 2 diabetes. The CDA:

• offers a wide array of support services to members of the public;
• offers resources to health-care professionals on best practices to care for people with diabetes;
• advocates to governments, schools, workplaces and others on behalf of people with diabetes; and,
• funds research on better treatments and to find a cure.

For more information, visit diabetes.ca or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464). 

SOURCE: Canadian Diabetes Association

or to schedule an interview, please contact: Advance Contact - October 16 to 23, Krista Lamb, Communication Manager, Canadian Diabetes Association, Office: 416-408-7088, Mobile: [phone], [email protected]; On-site Contacts - October 23 to 25, Paul Kilbertus, Senior Manager, Strategic Communications, Canadian Diabetes Association, On-site/Mobile: [phone], [email protected] ; Sherry Calder, Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications, Canadian Diabetes Association, On-site/Mobile: [phone], [email protected]