Understanding diabetes

The director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Joan Guinovart, is to give a conference entitled “Entendre la diabetis” (Understanding Diabetis) on Thursday 5 November at 19h in the Sala Raval of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). Directed to the general public and free of charge, Prof. Guinovart’s talk will cover the keys behind what underlies the disease and that will allow us to better understand its complications. The journalist and science coordinator of the newspaper ARA, Mònica L. Ferrado, will chair the session.

This will be the fourth and last in the series “Science today for the medicine of the future”, which IRB Barcelona has organised at the CCCB with the aim to bring research closer to the public. The series is part of the programme “Perspectives Barcelona Biomed”, which started this year to mark IRB Barcelona’s 10th anniversary.

Epidemic of the XXI century

Diabetes is a chronic disease that appears when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin (type 1 or juvenile diabetes) or when the organism does not efficiently use the insulin it produces (diabetes type 2).

Diabetes, above all type 2, which affects mostly people over 60, “is increasing dramatically,” says Guinovart, “as a result of unhealthy diets and the lack of exercise.” According to the World Health Organisation, in 2014, 9% of adults (18 and over) had diabetes. In 2012, 1.5 million people died a direct consequence of the disease.

 “With only 30minutes of exercise a day and a healthier diet, the incidence of diabetes would fall dramatically,” says Guinovart, head of the Metabolic Engineering and Diabetes Therapy lab at IRB Barcelona and Full Professor at the University of Barcelona.

MORE INFORMATION:

Conference: “Entendre la diabetis”, by Joan Guinovart, director of IRB Barcelona

Time: 5 NOV 2015, 19h.

Venue: Sala Raval, Centre de Cultura Contemporània. C/Montalegre, 5. Barcelona.

Free of charge. Registration no required.