27th Annual Meeting of the European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance, Lisbon, Portugal, 8-9th May 2019.

Abstract

The 27th annual European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance meeting was held in Lisbon, birthplace of Ernesto Roma, founder of the worlds oldest diabetes association ‘Associação Protetora dos Diabéticos de Portugal’ (Association for the Protection of Poor Diabetics) in 1926. Although he graduated in medicine (psychiatry) in Lisbon, it was in Boston (1922), where he witnessed the revolution of insulin. On his return to Portugal, he vowed to make this treatment available to everyone with diabetes, regardless of his or her capacity to pay. He immediately introduced diabetes education enabling people with diabetes to make lifestyle modifications (self-injections and an adequate diet). This concept of patient empowerment through education has since become the hallmark of diabetes associations around the world. The 27th meeting of the group was hosted by Dr. John Jones and Dr. Maria Paula Macedo (Coimbra and Lisboa, Portugal) with the overall theme of ‘New Voyages of Discovery Towards Understanding Insulin Actions.’