"Tsunami" Diabetes: In Focus of Experts from Northern Europe and Arab Countries

About 25% of the Arab and 7%of the German adult population is affected. Diabetes experts from the Baltic Sea Region and the United Arab Emirates meet at the 2nd Baltic Sea Region Health Meeting “Diabetes mellitus – Global Challenge and Innovative Solutions” in Rostock, Germany, to present and discuss latest developments and examples of best practice to develop joint strategies to combat the disease. The international conference is held in parallel to the 8th National Conference for Health Economics, July 4th to 5th , 2012.

The aim of the two-day meeting is to present recent development of the global disease Diabetes mellitus, to learn from newest examples of disease management and control methods, and to strengthen collaboratation between Northern Europe, the Arab countries and overseas. Northern Europe is recognized as one of the leading clusters of excellence in diagnosis, therapy and prevention of diabetes. The participation of experts from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a result of North Germany´s presentation at the health fair “Arab Health” in Dubai in early 2012 realized in cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Economy of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the competence network BioCon Valley.

Diabetes mellitus occurs in the Arab world at a young age to above average frequency. About 25% of the adult population is affected according to the Ministry of Health in Dubai, local medical doctors estimate the prevalence of the disease higher than 50 %. The spread of the disease is rising worldwide. It is a creeping disease whose harmful effects increase over years and cause deleterious effects such as blindness, neuropathy, myocardial and cerebral infarction and loss of extremities in patients who are not in state-of-the-art care. Diabetes is not only a severe burden to the patient, but also to society in general since the costs of therapy have increased tremendously. The IDF International Diabetes Federation speaks of the “epidemic of the 21st Century”.

More than 70 experts will discuss the topic in three main workshops: ” Diabetes Mellitus – How can we Escape the Tsunami?”, ” Diabetes Management and Prevention – Examples from the Baltic Sea Region” and “Innovative Solutions for a Personalized Diabetes Management and Prevention” with case studies from Germany, the Baltic Sea Region, the UAE and the USA.

The meeting is part of the framework of the ScanBalt Health Region Flagship, lead by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, and Lithuania in cooperation with ScanBalt BioRegion. ScanBalt Health Region Flagship was approved by the EU-Commission within its Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The mission of the Flagship is to set up cross-sectoral and transnational reference projects for collaboration and innovations in both health and in life sciences in order to promote Public Health on a high and sustainable level and to make the region a globally leading and prosperous Health Region. Financial support from the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the European Union is kindly acknowledged. The event is part of the EU project “Eco4Life – South Baltic Network for Environmental and Life Sciences to boost cross-border cooperation”.

The National Conference for Health Economics is implemented since 2005 by the state government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, and realized annually in Rostock. The conference deals with the entire width of the healthcare industry and attracts usually more than 600 participants. In plenary sessions general trends are presented in the healthcare industry and the potential for interdisciplinary successful collaboration is discussed. Congress President is the President of the Board of Health Economics of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Prof. Dr. Dr. hc (mult.) Horst Klinkmann.

We welcome you in Rostock!

Dr. Wolfgang Blank
Chairman ScanBalt fmba, CEO BioCon Valley GmbH
Prof Dr Wolfgang Motz
Klinikum Karlsburg GmbH, Stiftung “Der herzkranke Diabetiker”
Media representatives are cordially invited!
PROGRAM of the 2nd Baltic Sea Health Region Meeting: “Diabetes mellitus – Global Challenge and Innovative Solutions”

Wednesday, July 4th 2012

14.45 – 15.15 Introduction
Dr. Wolfgang Blank | ScanBalt Chairman, CEO BioCon Valley (R) GmbH, Greifswald-
Rostock, Germany
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Motz | Direktor Klinikum Karlsburg, Karlsburg, Germany
Dr. Abdulrahman Shihabi | Deutsch-Arabische Medizinische Gesellschaft
15.15 – 17.15 Workshop: “Diabetes Mellitus as a Global Challenge – How Can We Escape the Tsunami?”
Chairs:
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Diethelm Tschöpe l Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Bad
Oeynhausen, Germany
Dr. Abdulrazzaq Al Madani l Dubai Health Authority, UAE
Speakers:
Diabetes Mellitus – the Underestimated Global Challenge
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Diethelm Tschöpe | Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Bad
Oeynhausen, Germany
Diabetes in the Arab World – Experiences and Challenges
Dr. Abdulrazzaq Al Madani l Dubai Health Authority, UAE
80 Years of Experiences in Therapy of Diabetes
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kerner | Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Klinikum Karlsburg, Germany
Transcultural Diabetes Care
Dr. Thomas Kunt | Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Prerequisites for Comprehensive Telemedicine Networks – Case Analysis for Diabetes

Ralph-Georg Wöhrl | Deutsche Telekom, T-System, Germany

18.30 Reception together with the 8th National Sector Conference on Health Economy

Thursday, July 5th 2012
09.00 Welcome session 8th National Sector Conference on Health Economy
Dr. Bernhard Heitzer State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economy, Berlin, Germany

Harry Glawe Minister of Economics, Labour and Tourism State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schwerin, Germany

09.30 – 11.00 Workshop “Diabetes Management and Prevention – Examples from the Baltic Sea Region and beyond”
Chairs:
Prof. Dr. Ralf Schiel | Inselklinikum Heringsdorf, Germany
Jaanus Pikani l ScanBalt fmba, Estonian Genome Foundation, Estland
Speakers:
Campus Diabetes Karlsburg
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Motz & Dr. Eckhard Salzsieder | Herz- und Diabeteszentrum
Klinikum Karlsburg, Deutschland & “Gerhardt Katsch”Institut Karlsburg e.V.,
Germany
Best Practice: Translating Diabetes Research into Health Services
Dr. Wilfred de Jonge | University Hospital Groningen, Netherlands
Diabetes Therapy in Lithuania
Dr. Vida Augustiniene | Litauische Diabetes Gesellschaft, Vilnius, Lithuania
Diabetes Management and Prevention in Arabic countries
Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Nicolas Abu-Tara | Universität Hamburg, Germany
Diabetes and Cancer: Situation in Westpomerania
Prof. Dr. Jan Lubinski | Pomeranian Medicine University Szczecin, Poland
11.00 – 11.15 Coffee Break
11.15 – 12.45 Workshop “ Innovative Solutions for Personalized Diabetes Management and Prevention“
Chairs:
Prof. Dr. Hans Jochen Brauns | DG Telemed, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Eckhard Salzsieder | Institut für Diabetes “Gerhardt Katsch” Karlsburg e.V., Germany
Speakers:
Best Practice: Crossborder Personalised Diabetes Management in UAE
Dr. Raman Shihabi & Dr. Petra Augstein | Institute of Diabetes Shihabi Clinic / Al Ain Center Dubai UAE & Institute of Diabetes “Gerhardt Katsch” Karlsburg e.V., Germany
Mobile IT Tools for Personalised Health Care in Diabetes
Prof. Ole Hejlesen | Aalborg University,Denmark
Innovative Solutions from the Patients Viewpoint
Prof. Dr. Hans Jochen Brauns | DG Telemed, Berlin, Germany
Global Diabetes Health Initiative
Dr. Fouad Kandeel | City of Hope, Los Angeles, USA
12.45 – 13.00 Summary
13.15 – 14.00 Closing Session together with 8th National Sector Conference on Health Economy
Contact:
BioCon Valley GmbH
Dr. Heinrich Cuypers
Walther-Rathenau-Straße 49 a
17489 Greifswald, Germany
T +49 3834-515 108
M: +49 160 4752583
F +49 3834-515 102
E hc@bcv.org