By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – 
About 250 area healthcare professionals attended a diabetes symposium at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Friday to learn the latest advances and innovations.

A number of topics on diabetes were dicussed at the symposium, including inpatient diabetes management, diets, and pumps and sensors in relation to type one diabetes.

Dr. Serge Jabbour, chief of the Division of Endocrinology and the director of the Diabetes Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

“It’s a very involving field, so there are many studies published on a daily basis. Sometimes when you read an article it’s hard to come up with the right conclusion. So it’s nice to have all these experts who have done this, their whole life, and they explain exactly what an article means. What a conclusion means and how to put all these studies together and help our patients when it comes to treating them.”

Diabetes remains a leading cause of death in the US and a major cause of cardiovascular disease.