ATTD 2024: Previewing the Latest on AID Systems, CGMs, and Diabetes Medications
By April Hopcroft
The diaTribe team takes off to Florence, Italy this week to cover this year’s Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes conference. Here’s what we’re most excited about.
Running March 6-9, ATTD 2024 is one of the largest international diabetes conferences highlighting the latest in diabetes tech and treatment.
We’ll hear from industry leaders and experts on innovations in insulin delivery, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and medications, as well as insights on diabetes prevention. Here’s an early look at some of the diabetes topics you can expect to hear more about from on-site reporting of the conference.
Live events: Solvable Problems in Diabetes
Friday evening is The diaTribe Foundation’s annual ATTD panel. This year, experts will weigh in on the potential benefits of time in tight range, a new metric that describes the time a person spends in normal levels of blood glucose (70-140 mg/dL).
This year’s event features renowned women in diabetes care from the U.S. and U.K and will be moderated by Dr. Tadej Battelino, head of endocrinology at University Medical Centre Ljubljana and ATTD co-chair. Panelists will explore how time in tight range can improve both daily life and long-term outcomes for people living with diabetes, plus how to use diabetes technology to achieve tighter glycemic control.
Advancements in automated insulin delivery
As AID systems continue to evolve, more researchers are investigating the technology in people with type 2 diabetes. On Thursday, several presentations delve into AID for type 2 diabetes, focusing on both the challenges and potential benefits of different systems.
Later on Thursday, we’ll attend a session led by Dr. Helen Murphy, who will discuss whether everyone with type 1 diabetes should be offered AID during pregnancy.
We’ll also be covering a session Friday evening on AID use in children, where we’ll learn more about global progress in achieving treatment targets for children with type 1 diabetes from Dr. Thomas Danne.
Innovations in continuous glucose monitoring
On Thursday evening, we’ll be covering a session on the role of CGMs for gestational diabetes, as well as a Friday morning presentation on tips for how to stay in range using CGM.
Also on Friday, experts will discuss how CGMs can guide diabetes management by giving users real-time data on diet, physical activity, and blood glucose levels.
On Saturday, we’ll learn how CGMs can be used in different populations, including people with prediabetes and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and early-stage type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes: screening and prevention
One prominent topic at this year’s conference is type 1 diabetes prevention. We’ll be doing a deep dive into the international consensus on monitoring for early-stage type 1 diabetes presented by JDRF on Thursday.
Saturday morning includes a session exploring the question of universal screening for type 1 diabetes. It also features a presentation by Dr. Jennifer Sherr on the use of Tzield (teplizumab) for delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes in the real world.
Another topic you can expect to read about is stem cell replacement therapies, which continue to progress through clinical trials. Lastly, on Friday evening, we’ll dive into options for managing obesity in type 1 diabetes, including GLP-1 receptor agonists and bariatric surgery.
Once-weekly insulins, incretins, and more
While ATTD is largely technology-focused, the conference also includes updates on emerging diabetes medications.
A Friday morning session will cover the latest news on once-weekly insulins, including insulin icodec and insulin efsitora, as well as CGM data for insulin. Also on Friday morning, leading experts like Dr. Viral Shah will shed further insight on dual and triple incretin drugs for managing obesity and diabetes.
With greater use of GLP-1s comes greater awareness of their side effects; we look forward to attending a session on muscle loss and frailty to close out the conference on Saturday afternoon.
We look forward to sharing all these exciting updates and more with you in our special edition mailer Saturday, March 9, plus further coverage on Tuesday, March 12.
To learn more about the conference and see the full program, visit the ATTD 2024 website.
Get real-time updates on the latest at the conference by following along on diaTribe’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
