Diabetes prevention efforts in the GCC received a significant boost with the UAE's successful hosting of the Emirates Diabetes Congress (EDC) 2009, which concluded recently with over 1,000 delegates from the US, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East participating in various workshops, symposia and networking activities, according to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a global healthcare industry partner in fighting diabetes.
GSK pointed out that the two-day congress provided a gateway for the region's medical practitioners and institutions to access the latest international expertise and knowledge in the prevention of diabetes, while serving as an important complementary initiative to the 'GCC Diabetes Executive Plan for 2008-2018,' which aims to increase awareness on the risks as well as management and prevention of the disease.
Dr. Nauman Rashid, Clinical Research & Medical Affairs Director, in GSK Middle East and North Africa, said: "The major technological breakthroughs in the field of medicine have enabled GSK and other key players in the pharmaceutical industry to introduce highly effective medicines for some of the most serious diseases today. The Emirates Diabetes Congress was an excellent venue to showcase to the region some of the latest achievements and medical findings, particularly in the area of diabetes prevention and management. Diabetes is a serious threat, especially here in the Middle East region, which is why we consider it crucially important that medical practitioners, healthcare institutions and the public remain adequately informed about the latest pharmaceutical developments in preventing this potentially deadly disease."
Dr. Iyad Ksseiry, chair of the scientific committee for EDC 2009 said: "It is very encouraging to see such a great number of medical experts and specialists from all over the world converging here in Dubai to help in addressing the challenges of diabetes prevention. We seek to build on the success of this Congress as we continue to raise awareness about the latest best practices and medical breakthroughs that help prevent and treat diabetes."
The Congress provided focus on recent advancements and landmark clinical studies in the treatment of diabetes. One of the recent studies has enlightened the public about the properties of anti-diabetic drugs by presenting various diabetes-related studies, including the Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiac Outcomes and Regulation of Glycaemia in Diabetes (RECORD) trial, which showed that the anti-diabetic drug rosiglitazone, which is marketed by GSK with the brand name Avandia, has the best rate of durable blood sugar control and was superior to other conventional diabetes medicines. The same study also revealed that Avandia has no increased overall cardiovascular risk compared with other diabetes medicines.
The latest findings in the study of medicines for diabetes is crucially significant for the UAE as the country has the second largest incidence of diabetes in the world, with over 20 per cent of the population reported to be diabetic. The Ministry of Health has further revealed that diabetes-related heart ailments accounted for 31.6 per cent of deaths, making it the number killer disease in 2008. Unhealthy food and lifestyle were cited as the major cause of diabetes, which has cost the UAE between USD 100 million to USD 200 million annually for treatment alone.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) produces medicines that treat major disease areas such as diabetes, asthma, virus control, infections, mental health and digestive conditions. GSK is also a leader in the important area of vaccines and has been a leading developer of new treatments for cancer. GSK is also one of the few pharmaceutical companies researching both medicines and vaccines for the World Health Organisation's three priority diseases - HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria - resulting in the development of some of the leading global medicines in these fields.
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