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Alliance to focus on clinical research of underserved populations
“Diabetes is a worldwide epidemic growing at alarming rates,” said Dr. Paul Robertson, incoming President-Elect of the American Diabetes Association and President and Scientific Director of the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI), which is convening the Magnuson Congress for a Global Diabetes Alliance, named for U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson – a co-founder of PNRI, who died of complications from diabetes in 1989. The Congress will be held at Seattle Bell Harbor International Conference Center on October 22-23, 2007. Congress participants will include top experts from the biomedical and social sciences, as well as public health and pharmaceutical fields. “The response from top experts from around the world to develop a global, multidisciplinary, collaborative endeavor focused on clinical research on diabetes has been overwhelming,” Robertson said. “Everyone recognizes the pressing need to expand clinical research of diabetes, especially in populations that are disproportionately impacted by the disease but not typically included in research. This approach will extend clinical research to areas of the world in need and broaden our knowledge of the causes and manifestations of diabetes overall. This will lead to greater insights into the disease and better approaches to its prevention and treatment.” “The need for an international, collaborative alliance focused on clinical research to help curb the disease could not be more urgent,” said Pierre Lefèbvre of Belgium, immediate past president of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and an invited speaker at the Magnuson Congress. The key goal of the Congress will be to outline a collaborative, multidisciplinary scientific research agenda with a particular focus on underserved populations. The agenda will help guide the formation of a global diabetes alliance. The Alliance’s first priority after its launch will be to raise the funds necessary to implement the research agenda. “There’s a huge need to look at minority and developing country populations that haven’t traditionally been included in research,” Lefèbvre added. “Diabetes has been long perceived as a disease of affluence. However, diabetes is spreading most rapidly in poorer countries.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seven out of the top 10 countries with the largest diabetic populations are located in the developing world. Countries such as India and China with the largest populations of people with diabetes are experiencing rapid increases in the prevalence of the disease. Currently, 31 million people in India and 20 million people in China have diabetes. By 2030 these numbers are projected to jump to 79 million people in India and 42 million people in China. Worldwide, more than 180 million people have diabetes, and this figure is estimated to more than double within 30 years. In 2007, the world is estimated to spend at least $232 billion to treat and prevent diabetes and its complications, according to the IDF. By 2025, this lower-bound estimate will exceed $302.5 billion. Without urgent action, the WHO projects that diabetes deaths will increase by more than 50 percent in the next 10 years Confirmed Congress participants to date include some of the world’s foremost diabetes experts and scientists from around the world, such as: Professor Paul Zimmet, Director and CEO of the International Diabetes Institute, Melbourne Professor Sir George Alberti, President of the British Government's National Clinical Director for Emergency Access Dr. Stewart B. Harris, Professor at the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine/Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario Dr. Ann Albright, Director of the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s division of diabetes translation Dr. Juliana Chan, Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong About the Warren G. Magnuson Congress for a Global Diabetes Alliance The Congress is named after the late U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson, who represented Washington State in the U.S. Senate longer than anyone else in history. Throughout his tenure, Senator Magnuson was committed to innovative health policy. One of the first bills introduced by Senator Magnuson led to the foundation of the National Institute of Health (NIH). Senator Magnuson also secured millions of dollars in federal appropriations to support the NIH and helped to establish the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (previously known as the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation). The Magnuson Congress aims to create a scientific research agenda emphasizing clinical research on diabetes. Congress participants will discuss and select research projects that will provide data that translate into improved diabetes prevention and care for underserved populations disproportionately affected by diabetes worldwide. The Congress will launch a global diabetes alliance to secure funding for and oversee the research agenda. The Magnuson Congress is supported by funding from the U.S. Congress. For more information please visit www.pnri.org/news/2007/magnuson/. About PNRI PNRI is a 50 year-old independent non-profit biomedical and clinical research center located in Seattle and founded by Dr. William Hutchinson, Sr., who also founded the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The mission of PNRI is to support and conduct basic and clinical studies that lead to the prevention and cure of diabetes and its complications. PNRI's acclaimed team of 85 doctors and researchers is committed to applying scientific discoveries to the real improvement of health for people and families living with diabetes. For more information on PNRI and diabetes, please visit www.pnri.org. www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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