About the speaker

Olle Melander (MD, PhD) is professor of Internal Medicine at Lund University and consultant at the Department of Internal Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. His research is focused on the improvement of cardiovascular risk stratification and identification of potentially life style and drug modifiable mechanisms behind diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Melander is the author of 565 international original scientific publications and according to ”Web of Science” he is 32899th with an h-index = 72. He has been awarded the “Peter Slight Award” (10 000 euros) in 2010 by the European Society of Hypertension, the Fernstrom award (100 000 SEK) in 2013 by Lund University and the Gustafsson Prize of Medicine in 2016 by the Swedish Royal Academy of Science (250 000 SEK). In 2020 he has received the prestigious European Research Council’s (ERC) Advanced Grant (25 million SEK) for his research on diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

About the talk

Vasopressin (VP), also known as antidiuretic hormone, is a vasopressor and antidiuretic peptide commonly known as an important operator in the salt and water regulation of the body. We and other groups recently established a link between the VP system and several cardiometabolic risk factors. Elevated VP, measured as copeptin (the C-terminal cleavage product of the VP precursor), predicts development of type 2 diabetes and abdominal obesity, and is an independent risk factor for diabetic heart disease and premature mortality. We are currently investigating effects of increased hydration on copeptin, glycemia and gluco-regulatory hormones. Previous studies in humans and animals suggest a role for VP in renal function decline both in diabetes patients and in the general population. We are currently studying the link between copeptin and incident renal disease in large population based cohorts including the Malmö Diet and Cancer - Cardiovascular Cohort (n=5162) and the Malmö Preventive Project (n=5158). Copeptin is measured at baseline in the populations and disease is captured using nation-wide registers. Furthermore, we are planning a Mendelian Randomization study to test if VP (measured as copeptin) is causally related with renal and cardiometabolic disease. Susceptibility genes associated with altered copeptin levels will be identified using data from genome-wide association studies conducted in the Malmö Diet and Cancer -Cardiovascular Cohort, the Malmö Preventive Project, the FINRISK-97 cohort and the PREVEND cohort, followed by test of association with metabolic and cardiorenal disease in the DIAGRAM and CARDIOGRAM cohorts. Our previous and current data suggest that copeptin is an independent predictor of cardiometabolic and renal diseases which can be used to identify individuals that are at higher risk for developing diabetes, renal disease and its cardiovascular complications in order to offer early preventive strategies.