Remission of type 2 diabetes, that is achieving blood glucose and A1C values in the normal range after stopping all glucose lowering medications, is possible for some individuals. The term remission reflects the often temporary resolution of elevated blood glucose and subsequent possible relapse with progression of type 2 diabetes. Achieving remission is more likely for those who have had type 2 diabetes for a shorter time, who are not on insulin therapy, and who are able and inclined to lose weight. Many people living with type 2 diabetes may have a goal of remission, and this it is possible for a subset of these individuals through a variety of interventions, including bariatric surgery, low-energy meal plans, or intensive exercise, best undertaken with the supervision of a trained health-care provider. Recent data from an ongoing study in Canada show that the continuous glucose profiles of individuals with type 2 diabetes in remission are similar to people without diabetes, although many of the people in this study follow ketogenic or low carbohydrate diets. Learning Objectives: At the end of this session participants will be able to: 1) Understand the new Diabetes Canada definition of type 2 diabetes remission. 2) Understand the factors which make an individual a good candidate for achieving remission. 3) Describe at least 2 ways in which remission of type 2 diabetes can be achieved.
Dylan MacKay is a clinical trialist and person who lives with type 1 diabetes. He is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Chronic Disease in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Internal Medicine Section Endocrinology at the University of Manitoba. His work focuses on clinical trials and patient-oriented research, with ongoing studies looking at glycemic response, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis. He also has a strong personal connection with type 1 diabetes research in which he is both a researcher and a person with lived experience across numerous projects. He supervises undergraduate, graduate student, and postdoctoral fellow research programs in human nutrition as well as food science. Dylan has been a member of CNS since he was a graduate student in the Bertolo/Brunton lab at Memorial University in Newfoundland. He has been a member of the Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines Steering Committee since 2020 and co-led the Diabetes Canada guideline chapter on Remission of Type 2 Diabetes in 2022.