Report – 6^th International Diabetes Summit (Virtual) 2022

The 6^th International Diabetes Summit 2022 was organized virtually by Chellaram Diabetes Institute from 4^th March (Friday) – 6^th March(Sunday) 2022.

Due to the on-going COVID pandemic and resultant restrictions on gatherings and travel, we conducted the IDS 2022 conference virtually.

The 3-day mega event comprised of a number of interesting sessions including Workshop on Classic Diabetology, A Certificate CME on Type 1 Diabetes, Special Seminar on Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity, Management of Gestational Diabetes, CME Certificate Course on Innovation in Endocrinology and Diabetes, CME Certificate Course on Type 2 Diabetes Remission, CME on Diabetes and Related Disorders, so on and so forth.

Overall, crisp and updated knowledge was generated to the delegates which would help them in their day to day practice.

About 113 speakers from India, 18 international speakers from all over the world and 125 Moderators contributed to the success of this event. Though the conference was virtual, more than 10,000 participants registered for the conference.

The Maharashtra Medical Council had awarded 6 Credit Points to the webinar.

Inauguration ceremony

Mr. Lal Chellaram, Chairman of Chellaram Diabetes Institute talked about the vision of the Chellaram Diabetes Institute – to make an IMPACT on diabetes via clinical care, research and education. Mr. Chellaram also talked about the rapid strides made by the Chellaram Hospital Diabetes Care and Multispecialty and the newly formed “Chellaram Diabetes Research Center (CDRC)”. He talked about “The Chronicle of Diabetes Research and Practice”– the flagship journal of the Chellaram Diabetes Institute and the importance of translational research from the rich heritage of traditional Indian medicines. Mr. Chellaram mentioned about the online courses started by the institute and highlighted the new course on “In-Hospital Glucose Management”. He also laid out the vision to future of Chellaram Diabetes Institute with focus on the upcoming “Nutrition Centre” as well as the future research initiatives of the CDRC to fund innovative research in diabetes.           

We were fortunate to have the virtual presence of Prof. Nils-Göran Larsson, Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee for Physiology and Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, as the Chief Guest during the inauguration ceremony. Dr. Larsson addressed the gathering live with his wonderful speech. Dr. Larsson spoke about the importance of early diagnosis and proper management of Type 2 diabetes and to provide correct information to people with diabetes. Dr. Larsson highlighted the discovery of insulin and mentioned how Dr. Frederick Banting, an orthopaedic surgeon with the help of Dr. John Macleod, professor of physiology and department head at the University of Toronto and a student research assistant Dr. Charles Best discovered insulin in 1922. In 1923, Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which they shared with Best and Collip.

Dr. Larsson also spoke about the alarming increase in number of diabetes in India as well as across the world and appreciated the good work done by Chellaram Diabetes Institute.

Various keynote lectures and panel discussions at CDI IDS

A wonderful Insulin Symposium with eminent speakers- Dr.Gagan Priya, Dr. Chitra Selvan, Dr. Shehla Shaikh, and chairperson Vaishali Deshmukh

Dr. Roy Taylor, UK with his topic “Impact of ReTUNE upon understanding of the aetiology of T2DM”

Informative topic, Diagnosis and management of NAFLD – a 2022 update, by Dr. Rita Basu, USA

Diabetic Foot Management in Clinical Practice: a 2021 Update” by Dr. John Doupis, Greece

Discussion on clinical diabetology – Dr. Michael Chan, Dr Mathew John, Dr Unnikrishnan AG, Dr Hemraj Chandalia, Dr Milind Patwardhan and Dr Abhay Khode

There were a total of 174 sessions presented at CDI IDS 2022.

The Valedictory ceremony

The Valedictory ceremony, was the culmination of all the three days of the conference. We were pleased to have Dr. Prathibha Varkey, President, Mayo Clinic Health System, Professor of Medicine & of Preventive Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, as the Chief Guest at the Valedictory program of our congress. The excellent speech by Dr Prathibha Varkey enhanced our conference.

Dr. Prathibha Varkey, President, Mayo Clinic Health System, Professor of Medicine & of Preventive Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science addressed the gathering as Chief Guest during Valedictory Program of the conference

Mr. Prakash Bhoopatkar, Vice Chairman of the Chellaram Diabetes Institute welcomed the dignitaries at the Valedictory function and also spoke about the decisive measures that Chellaram Diabetes Institute has adopted and implemented to make an IMPACT on diabetes through clinical care, research, education and awareness projects. He highlighted that the virtual conference was enriched with presence of leading figures from the field of diabetes and their unique insights added to the knowledge of the participants.

Mr. Bhoopatkar said that this will certainly offer valuable insights to healthcare providers that will surely improve patient care in India and across the world. Mr. Bhoopatkar was pleased to note that over the 3 days of debates and discussions, all the speakers and chairperson handled their topics with utmost integrity.

Mr. Prakash Bhoopatkar, Vice Chairman of the Chellaram Diabetes Institute addressed the gathering during Valedictory Program of the conference.

Chellaram Foundation Diabetes Research Award- 2022

We had received 84 abstracts for IDS 2022. Among these 84 abstracts, 62 abstracts were for Clinical Sciences and 22 were for Basic Sciences. The abstract submissions were from leading institutions in the country. We were privileged to have the below esteemed judges for the Oral paper presentations:

1. Shrikant Solov
2. Ravindra Ghooi
3. Sarita Mulkalwar
4. Priyanka Saxena
5. Suresh Shinde
6. Suganthi Kumaran
7. Shailesh Deshpande
8. Ashutosh Pakale
9. Charan Bale
10. Shalbha Tiwari
11. Gourish Karande

The Chellaram Foundation Diabetes Research Awards were presented.

First prize of Rs. 2,00,000 each for Basic Sciences and Clinical Sciences was awarded.

Second prize of Rs 1,00,000 each for Basic Sciences and Clinical Sciences was awarded.

A total prize of Rs. 6,00,000/- was awarded to the winners. List of the winners is as given below:

The 1^st prize winner in the Basic Science category was Dr. Manik Pradhan whose topic was- “Non-invasive diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in H. Pylori infected patients by 13c- and 18o- isoptopes in exhaled breath CO2”. This is a very unique way of looking at biomarkers using breath and probably is an important research paper which could make an impact on diagnosis as well as monitoring of diabetes. People with diabetes are at a risk of diabetes related complications such as eye disease, kidney disease, foot disease and heart disease. The markers of these complications would not just include blood glucose but other markers as well. This biomarker study of breath in diabetes is an important implication for future in diabetes care.

The 2^nd prize in the Basic Science category was won by Dr. Balaji Ramanathan whose topic was “A study on the association of angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism (rs1799752) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic kidney disease among South Indian population”. Dr. Ramanathan looked at ACE (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme) gene changes and diabetic kidney disease. It is not that diabetic kidney disease tends to run in families though the genetic factor of this particularly in Indian population has not been systematically studied. This was the first research paper which looked at the genetic marker and suggested that it could provide important insights into both diagnosis and prediction of diabetic kidney disease in people with diabetes in India.

The 1^st prize winner in the Clinical Science category was Dr. Kavya Subramanian whose topic was “A study on the effect of acute and chronic hyperglycaemia on intraocular pressure in type 2 diabetic patients”. The author studied a research project which looked at effect of high blood glucose and how it changes the dynamics of intraocular pressure and how this could have clinical impact in a new understanding of ocular changes in diabetes.

The 2^nd prize winner in the Clinical Science category was Dr. Alpesh Goyal who discussed “Susceptibility for SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes compared to controls”. The study looked at clinical parameters of COVID in people with diabetes. COVID in diabetes is most severe and more complicated and difficult to manage. This study from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi highlights the clinical experience.

For the first time a class XII^th student Muskan R. Thakur participated and presented a paper titled, “Colchicine protects against glycation modifications of albumin and regulates inflammatory signaling pathways in diabetes induced cardiomyopathy”. Ms. Muskan was given a special appreciation

Chellaram Diabetes Research Centre

The Chellaram Diabetes Research Centre (CDRC) was initiated with an aim to make an impact on diabetes through innovations. The CDRC also incorporates now ‘“The Chronicle of Diabetes Research and Practice” which is the flagship journal of the Chellaram Diabetes Institute. This journal is an open access, free to publish, free to read journal which aims to publish the highest quality research including editorials, original articles, brief reports, case studies and clinical practice reviews so that people working in the field of diabetes including healthcare workers, diabetes educators, nutritionists, physiotherapist and diabetes specialist and endocrinologist can have access to latest and best in diabetes management. The results of the first “Call for proposals- Innovation Grant -2021 were announced.

Altogether, 29 concept proposals were received in response to our “Call for Proposals- Innovation Grant 2021”. The proposals had been reviewed and assessed by the expert members of the Grant Review Committee and independently by the external experts.

On the basis of the scientific merit, study design, novelty, and translational potential, six proposals were funded from all over India. The total grant of approximately Rs. 2.7 crores for all projects together were announced. The list of Awardees is mentioned below:

Virtual Run for Diabetes

There was also a patient initiative called “Virtual Run for Diabetes” in association with Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation. More than 1000 people, including many with type 1 and type 2 diabetes took part in the Virtual Run. A mini physical Run was organised with CDI staff on 6^th March 2022. Dr. Unnikirshnan AG flagged off the Run. The ‘Run for Diabetes’ had a good response both virtually and physically

36 stalls too witnessed an excellent support of our corporate partners.

The 6^th International Diabetes Summit was highly appreciated by the attending dignitaries and delegates from medical fraternity. The event was also covered widely in the print and media.

Feedback Summary

Some suggestions:

• Waiting for Physical conference
• Looking forward to in-person meetings
• Please include GDM and Insulin analogues practical discussion and workshop once physical conference is done next time.
• Practical Case based topics, other comorbidities like HTN, IHD, other endocrinological diseases should be included.
• Please include Technology Symposium for CGMS & FLASH MONITORING in CDI-IDS 2023.
• to start PG diploma in diabetes which is not available in India.

Rx events has also shared hall and session wise attendance list. We will make a summary and send soon.

The wonderful teamwork under the leadership of Dr. Unnikrishnan and Dr. Anil Pandit enabled the success of our conference.