Diabetes & Hypertension Seminar report

The March Dinner Seminar was given by Associate Professors Merlin Thomas and Markus Schlaich from the Baker Institute, covering recent developments in the prevention of diabetic complications, and the preliminary results of endovascular renal sympathetic nerve ablation therapy.

The talk was accompanied by a sumptuous meal of steamed oyster, crab, braised beef and fried rice from the culinary team at Sun Kee Restaurant on Chapel Street in South Yarra. The new management at Sun Kee has preserved much of the atmosphere of what used to be San Choi in South Yarra.

The food was enough to play havoc with any diabetics in the audience, as its quality challenged any attendee's ability to control their portion size. The only blot on the menu were some rather dry noodles, but the freshness of the seafood more than made up for this.

Entertaining and engaging as ever, Merlin covered results from the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) Trial and highlighted the issue that aggressively trying to meet current target levels for blood pressure, glycaemic control, and cholesterol in diabetics came with the price of increased complications in other aspects of diabetic disease.

The second talk from Markus Schlaich covered the new renal sympathetic nerve ablation procedure developed by Ardian Technologies. This involves angiographic cannulation of the renal arteries and introduction of a radiofrequency (RF) ablation catheter. Helical thermal ablation of the renal arterial wall destroys sympathetic nerve fibres supplying the kidney. The underlying theory is that severe, refractory hypertension may be due to increased intrinsic sympathetic activity. The same rationale applies in using oral sympathetic antagonists such as moxonidine.

Merlin Thomas also took the opportunity to tell us about his book, "Fast Living Slow Ageing" which sounds like a fascinating read on how to make the most of life in a fast-paced world that seems to deny the ageing process rather than embrace it.

With thanks to our sponsors from Abbott Pharmaceuticals we were able to hold a highly productive meeting, satisfying in both educational and gastronomic aspects.