This volume focuses on recent advances in the area of diabetes mellitus and its complications, from basic research at the molecular level to clinical medicine, spanning several areas including epidemiology, diagnosis, complications, prevention, treatment, beta cell function and dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, glucose and lipid metabolism and drug targets. The international conference of which this is the proceedings provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and the dissemination of current knowledge about the full range of issues concerning type I and type II diabetes mellitus.