The meeting will focus on targeting metabolic pathways to combat the most prevalent cardiac diseases of our time, in particular diabetes, heart failure and the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic reprogramming of the whole body, and specifically of the heart, often are the initial events in these diseases. Just as in the field of cancer, where it was recently suggested that cancer may represent a metabolic disease rather than a genetic disease, alterations in metabolism, at least partly, drive cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, novel strategies and compounds directed at intermediary metabolism are being developed and already show high promise in the treatment of diabetes and heart failure. However, these strategies/compounds present numerous challenges concerning their actual mechanism and potential, requiring in-depth unraveling of their metabolic actions by the research community.
This meeting’s invited speakers will present the most prominent new strategies and compounds in the setting of different cardiac diseases. Several unanswered questions will be critically discussed by experts in the metabolic field, thereby pinpointing areas for further research. The overall picture that can be painted is one of an upheaval in metabolic-driven research ánd therapeutic opportunities in our common battle against the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases.