Czech Diabetes Society is a professional society of the Czech Medical Association of J.E. Purkyně based in Prague. An elected committee stands at the head of the society. It has 12 members and 3 members of revision committee.

History of the society

The Czech Diabetes Society was originally founded as a society of the Czech Medical Association in 1963. The founding members were Prof. Richard Foit, MD, DrSc., Prof. Jiří Syllaba, MD, DrSc. and Ota Dub, MD. Other important members in the first years of the society were Assoc. Prof. Jan Stříteský, MD, Otakar Postránecký, MD, Assoc. Prof. Lidmila Hostomská, MD, Assoc. Prof. Bedřiška Skamenová, MD and Růžena Siebrová, MD. Among the members of the society in the following years were e.g. Prof. Jaroslav Páv, MD, DrSc., Prof. MUDr. Zdeněk Svoboda, DrSc. and a number of others. Among the presidents in the CDS were:

Presidents:

Prof. Richard Foit, MD, DrSc.
Assoc. Prof. Jiří Roštlapil, MD, CSc.
Assoc. Prof. Miloš Středa, MD, CSc.
Prof. Jaroslav Páv, MD, DrSc.
Prof. Vladimír Bartoš, MD, DrSc.
Assoc. Prof. Jindra Perušičová, MD, CSc.
Prof. Jan Škrha, MD, DrSc.
Assoc. Prof. Milan Kvapil, MD, CSc.
Prof. Terezie Pelikánová, MD, DrSc.

Secretary:

Růžena Siebrová, MD.
Assoc. Prof. Miloš Středa, MD, CSc.
Assoc. Prof. Josef Kmoch, MD, CSc.
Karel Vondra, MD, DrSc.
Assoc. Prof. Jan Škrha, MD, CSc.
Assoc. Prof. Jindřiška Perušičová, MD, DrSc.
Prof. Zdeněk Rušavý, MD, PhD.

Activities of the society

At the beginning there was an effort to establish a specialized center for diabetes research in the Czech Republic. The plan has never been implemented. The CDS oriented professionally mainly on diagnostics and therapy of diabetes. Gradually, diabetology as an independent specialization developed and kept clinically a tight association with Internal Medicine.

Domestic activities

• CDS established a tradition of an annual congress: In 1965, Diabetes Days in Luhačovice took place for the first time. Additionally, collections of articles summarizing selected actual problems in diabetology were produced within the next few years. From originally small activity, attended by only a few dozens of people, developed a national congress that is regularly attended by hundreds of specialists in diabetes, internal medicine, but also general medicine. At the beginning and for many years after, the congress was organized as an activity of the Czech and Slovak Diabetes Society. Even after the division of the republic the character of the event, with the participation of specialists from both countries, is preserved. The annual diabetes congress in Luhačovice was attended by a number of prominent international experts, e.g. Leo P. Krall, MD (USA, also a president of the American Diabetes Association), Prof. V. Schliack, MD (Germany), Prof. R. B. Tattersall, MD (UK), Prof. Mohnicke, MD (Germany), Prof. D. Andreani MD (Italy), Prof. Ogilviem MD (UK), Prof. J. Mirouze, MD (France), Prof. Deckert, MD (Denmark), Prof. Balabolkin, MD (USSR), Prof. Boulton, MD (UK), Prof. Pozilli, MD (Italy), Prof. Del Prato (Italy), Prof. Landgraf (Germany), Prof. Roden (Austria) and others.
• A tradition of Syllaba’s lectures was established as a part of the annual congress in 1992 (1992 - prof. Syllaba, 1993 – prof. Páv, 1994 – prof. Svoboda, 1995 – prof. Bartoš, 1996 – prof. Rybka, 1997 – prof. Anděl, 1998 – assoc. prof. Vavřinec, 1999 – assoc. prof. Perušičová, 2000 – assoc. prof. Škrha, 2001 – prof. Zamrazil, 2002 – Dr. Šmahelová, 2003 – prof. Jirkovská, 2005 – assoc. prof. Saudek, 2006 – prof. Pelikánová, 2007 – assoc. prof. Rušavý, 2008 – prof. Kvapil, 2009 – Dr. Lacigová, 2010 – Dr. Olšovský, 2011 – prof. Haluzík, 2012 – Dr. Andělová)
• Apart from the annual congress of CDS, traditionally taking place in Luhačovice, other regular professional and educational events under the aegis of CDS are organized. These include Postgraduate Seminars in Diabetes (Poděbrady), Diabetes Interdisciplinary Symposia (Hradec Králové), Postgraduate Seminars in Diabetes (Brno), Working Days in Pediatric Diabetology (Karlovy Vary) and a number of other events.

International activities

• In 1992, the CSD organized the 28th annual congress of EASD on behalf of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, which took place in Prague on the 8-11th of September 1992. The total participation was 5100 persons and the congress has become the largest congress in medicine ever organized in the Czech Republic. The chairman of the congress was prof. Jaroslav Páv, MD, DrSc.
• In 1997, the 14th International Danube Symposium on Diabetes Mellitus was organized in Prague (2. - 4. 10. 1997) on behalf of the Federation of the International Danube Symposia on Diabetes Mellitus. The chairman was assoc. prof. Jan Škrha, MD, CSc.
• In 2000, an „International Symposium on Non-Enzymatic Glycation and Oxidative Stress in Diabetes Mellitus” took place in Prague (14. - 16. 9. 2000) as an independent symposium within the 36th annual EASD congress in Jerusalem. The chairmen were J. Škrha, H. P. Hammes a U. J. Eriksson.

Organization of care of diabetic patients

• In the beginning of the 70ties, CSD organized activities focused on diabetes for the Union of Disabled Persons. An independent Union of Diabetics of the Czech Republic later separated from this organization.
• In the 80ties, the CDS started to additionally organize the National Diabetes Program and established a broad cooperation with the specialties immediately concerned with the realization of the program (e.g. ophthalmology, gynecology and obstetrics, biochemistry, and others). Since 2010, a new National Diabetes Program is being developed with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health Czech Republic, on which other professional societies are taking part, including the Society of General Practice. The Program is intended not only for creation of conditions for medical care of diabetic patients, but also for prevention of diabetes and its complications in the Czech Republic.
• The committee cooperates with unprofessional organizations (Union of Diabetics, Association of Parents and Friends of Diabetic Children) in negotiation of mutual problems with other organs (e.g. the Ministry of Health Czech Republic, health insurance companies, etc.). The Czech Diabetes Association (DAČR) was founded in 2009 in order to coordinate professional activities and activities of unprofessional organizations as well as enforcement of objectives in the care of diabetic patients.
• In autumn 2003, the Civic Society of Out-patient Diabetologists was established as an organization for promotion of outpatient diabetologists.
• The committee systematically develops and updates guidelines concerning individual areas of care of diabetic patients that are available on the website of the society (www.diab.cz) and also in print in the "Diabetologie, Endokrinologie, Metabolismus, Výživa." journal (2004, 2007, 2012).

Publications, journal

• The leading members of CDS have produced a number of publications - books in the field of diabetology. The important ones include e.g.:
  • R. Foit, J. Syllaba: Diabetes mellitus, Praha 1970
  • J. Páv: Klinická diabetologie, Praha 1988
  • M. Anděl et al.: Diabetes mellitus a další poruchy metabolismu, Praha 2001
  • V. Bartoš, T. Pelikánová et al.: Praktická diabetologie, Praha 1996, 2000, 2004, 2010
  • A. Jirkovská et al.: Syndrom diabetické nohy, Praha 2006
  • M. Kvapil: Diabetologie 2010, Diabetologie 2011, Praha 2010, 2011
  • J. Perušičová et al. Diabetes mellitus 1. typu, 2009, Diabetes mellitus 2. typu, 2011
  • J. Rybka: Diabetes mellitus – komplikace a přidružená onemocnění, 2007
  • Š. Svačina: Prevence diabetu a jeho komplikací, Praha 2008
  • J. Škrha et al.: Diabetologie, Praha 2009
  • V. Zamrazil, K. Vondra, A. Šimečková: Časná stadia diabetes mellitus, Praha 1997
• CDS is one of the professional societies that determines the contents of journal "Diabetologie, Endokrinologie, Metabolismus, Výživa". The members of the editorial board for ČDS are: prof. Anděl (editor-in-chief), prof. Bartoš, prof. Perušičová, prof. Rušavý, prof. Haluzík, assoc. prof. Cinek and prof. Škrha

Membership in international societies and associations

• ČDS has a collective membership in International Diabetes Federation (IDF), some individuals (a total of 83 CDS members in 2000) are members of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and also the Federation of the International Danube Symposia on Diabetes Mellitus, where assoc. prof. Škrha was the 2nd secretary (1995-1999) and prof. Bartoš (1995-2001) a board member.

Awards to Members

• ČDS awards annually a Prize of the society for the most important study (publication) in the field for the past year. Since 2010 the following awards are given: Professor Syllaba award for the best book and Professor Páv award for the best original contribution in an international journal. The Czech Medical Association of J.E. Purkyně names an honorary members of ČDS and ČLS JEP on the basis of proposal by CDS committee.