Steno gathers doctors from 26 countries

160 doctors from 26 countries attended the Steno Symposium 2011, which focused on the latest research within early detection, prevention and treatment of diabetes complications.

By Philip Munch, 9 June 2011

The symposium ran over three days, from May 25th – May 27th, and had an extensive programme focusing mainly on clinical research that can be easily applied in daily practice:
”The theme throughout the programme was prevention and detection of complications, as early as possible, with the use of existing and new methods”, says Peter Rossing, Head of Research at SDC.


Peter Rossing, Head of Research at Steno Diabetes Center


The new methods focused in particular on cardiovascular complications which are difficult to detect at an early stage and a relatively new research area within preventive diabetes care.

Share knowledge and experience
The attendees highlighted their appreciation for the intimate and at the same time global atmosphere, something that is quite different from the large diabetes conferences, EASD and ADA. The programme allowed for fruitful discussions throughout the symposium and informal arrangements facilitated the dialogue and sharing of experiences among the participants:

”The most important thing with this symposium is probably the sharing of knowledge among colleagues from all over the world – that’s very interesting”, says Dr. FJ Carrasco Sánchez, one of the participating Spanish doctors.

Visiting the Steno clinic
Furthermore, the visit to Steno Diabetes Center made a lasting impression on several of the participants: The young diabetes researcher and speaker at the Symposium, Dr Gregory O'Neal Clark from Dallas, Texas, thought that the US could learn a lot from the setup around Steno Diabetes Center:

”It was fascinating to see how treatment, research and education was organised in one institution. It was also interesting to learn how Steno organised the transition from paediatrics to adult care – an area where we lack support in the US.”

The visit to Steno Diabetes Center also involved the eye clinic, the newly opened Steno Health Promotion Center as well as a talk on the famous Greenland studies in the Hagedorn Auditorium.

Learn more about the programme here