How weight-loss surgery reverses type 2 diabetes

Washington, Mar 25 (ANI): For the first time, researchers at UC Davis have shown that surgical procedure in rats, similar to bariatric (weight-loss) surgery in humans, can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers also have identified biochemical changes caused by the surgeries that may be responsible for that delay.

Findings from the study should help researchers identify strategies for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes— a chronic condition in which the body is unable to properly metabolise sugar and fat, leading to serious complications including heart disease, blindness and kidney failure.

“Bariatric surgery currently is considered to be the most effective long-term treatment for human obesity and often leads to marked improvements in diabetes,” said the study’s lead author Peter Havel.

“It has been thought that reduction of blood sugar, which indicates a reversal of type 2 diabetes, in patients following bariatric surgery was due to post-surgery weight loss. This study, however, supports the observations from a number of earlier clinical studies reporting that diabetes is often improved prior to substantial weight loss. It also suggests that endocrine changes in hormones produced by the gastrointestinal tract may contribute to the early effects of bariatric surgery, in addition to the later effects of weight loss,” said Havel.

“This study confirms our clinical observations that metabolic regulation — specifically homeostasis of glucose — occurs quickly after gastric bypass surgery. It”s clear from the outcome that something physiologic is at work with controlling diabetes that is not related to weight loss,” said Mohamed Ali at UC Davis Health System.

The researchers set out to test a hypothesis that certain bariatric surgical procedures were successful in improving type 2 diabetes, at least in part, because the procedures increased the flux of unabsorbed nutrients to the far end of the small intestine and, in doing so, triggered increased secretion of two hormones.

Those hormones — glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide-YY (PYY) — are known to have a role in controlling food intake and improving insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity, thereby helping to stabilize blood sugar levels.

To test the hypothesis, the researchers carried out a surgical procedure known as ileal interposition in a line of rats that were predisposed to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

They found that the rats receiving the ileal interposition surgery developed type 2 diabetes 120 days later than did the rats in the control group.

In addition, by the time the rats were one year old, 78 percent of the control group rats were diabetic while only 38 percent of the rats that had received the ileal interposition procedure had developed diabetes.

The study has been published online in the journal Gastroenterology. (ANI)

Lap-band surgery off limits for under 15s

Australian surgeons have been issued with a set of guidelines for carrying out lap-band surgery on severely obese teenagers.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has released its advice on when teenagers should be allowed to have the controversial procedure, which involves restricting the stomach by putting a ring around it.

The guidelines endorse the operation for obese teens from the age of 15.

The chairwoman of the committee which developed the guidelines, Professor Louise Bauer, says the surgery should be considered for some teenagers as young as 15 with severe obesity.

“It is not a large number of young people, but there is a small, significant proportion of young people with severe obesity who need additional therapy,” she said.

“We are recommending that weight-loss surgery be considered in young people aged 15 years and over who have finished puberty and who have severe obesity – a body mass index greater than 40.”

Professor Bauer says there is a long-term study going back 14 years that follows up with people who have had lap-band surgery, but there is no long-term follow-up with young people.

“We know that obesity surgery can really improve life longevity for adults who have severe obesity,” she said.

“We have recommended laparoscopic banding surgery for young people because, first of all, there is experience with its use in Australia and also because it is potentially reversible.

“I think that is an important thing to think about when we are dealing with young people, particularly when we are not sure necessarily of the long-term effects.”

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Weight-loss surgery can help eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in nearly 80 percent patients, an international study has found.

The research team led by Professor Henry Buchwald of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, observed almost 135,000 patients for the study.

The findings concluded that 78 per cent patients had a “complete resolution” of diabetes for up to two years post-surgery, while 87 either saw resolution or noted an improvement in their condition, reports Timesonline.

Type 2 diabetes is common to obese people and occurs when the body stops producing or using insulin, the hormone that maintains the sugar level in blood.

Losing weight can help the body to efficiently use available insulin, and thus prevent kidney failure, nerve damage and eye problems.

The weight-loss surgery, medically known as the bariatric surgery, or the gastric-band operation, fits a band around the upper part of the stomach, restricting the amount people can eat before feeling full. Though the operation can benefit diabetes patients, it is advised only for the very obese, who’ve failed to lose weight otherwise.

But charity Diabetes UK is a little sceptical about the findings of the research.

Zoë Harrison, care adviser for the charity, said: “Although the data shows good results from bariatric surgery, it must be remembered that any surgery carries serious risks.

“Bariatric surgery should be considered only as a last resort. It can lead to dramatic weight loss, which in turn may result in a reduction in people taking their type 2 diabetes medication, and even in some people needing no medication at all. This does not mean type 2 diabetes has been cured.

“These people will still need to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be physically active to manage their diabetes.” (ANI)

Bariatric surgery can eliminate diabetes symptoms

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Weight-loss surgery can help eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in nearly 80 percent patients, an international study has found.

The research team led by Professor Henry Buchwald of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, observed almost 135,000 patients for the study.

The findings concluded that 78 per cent patients had a “complete resolution” of diabetes for up to two years post-surgery, while 87 either saw resolution or noted an improvement in their condition, reports Timesonline.

Type 2 diabetes is common to obese people and occurs when the body stops producing or using insulin, the hormone that maintains the sugar level in blood.

Losing weight can help the body to efficiently use available insulin, and thus prevent kidney failure, nerve damage and eye problems.

The weight-loss surgery, medically known as the bariatric surgery, or the gastric-band operation, fits a band around the upper part of the stomach, restricting the amount people can eat before feeling full. Though the operation can benefit diabetes patients, it is advised only for the very obese, who’ve failed to lose weight otherwise.

But charity Diabetes UK is a little sceptical about the findings of the research.

Zoë Harrison, care adviser for the charity, said: “Although the data shows good results from bariatric surgery, it must be remembered that any surgery carries serious risks.

“Bariatric surgery should be considered only as a last resort. It can lead to dramatic weight loss, which in turn may result in a reduction in people taking their type 2 diabetes medication, and even in some people needing no medication at all. This does not mean type 2 diabetes has been cured.

“These people will still need to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be physically active to manage their diabetes.” (ANI)

Lap-band weight-loss surgery can cure obese teens of metabolic syndrome

Washington, July 2 (ANI): Laparoscopic gastric banding surgery – the “Lap-Band” procedure – not only helps obese adolescents achieve significant weight loss but can also improve and even reverse metabolic syndrome, reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a new study.

The study was conducted by Drs. Ilene Fennoy, Jeffrey Zitsman and colleagues at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center.

“Until recently, there have been few treatments capable of helping these young patients lose weight, much less improving their lifelong health prospects. The Lap-Band may well be a useful intervention for tackling teen obesity-which is why it is so important to investigate the procedure’s safety and efficacy in this growing population,” says Dr. Fennoy.

In the new study, Dr. Fennoy and her colleagues followed 24 morbidly obese adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 who underwent the Lap-Band procedure.

The study participants either had a BMI of greater than 40 or greater than 35 if already suffering from diabetes or obesity-related illnesses.

Six months after surgery, they noted a significant drop in participants’ BMI, waist circumference, and blood levels of C-reactive protein. These indicators continued to improve among the 12 patients being followed up at the one-year point.

The authors reported that other measures of metabolic syndrome such as blood lipid and sugar levels came down quickly in the first six months, with “less dramatic” changes seen one year after surgery.

“Of all the bariatric procedures, the Lap-Band is the most benign, with complication rates of less than 1 percent,” Dr. Fennoy said.

Dr. Fennoy said that the device, inserted via minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, consists of a simple band to make the stomach smaller and a balloon that can be decompressed when necessary.

Although it is technically reversible, the procedure should be considered a long-term solution for extreme and intractable obesity.

The study has been presented at the annual Endocrine Society meeting in Washington, D.C. (ANI)

Bariatric surgery relatively safe, claims study

Washington, June 25 (ANI): After a large-scale analysis, a Duke University Medical Center researcher has said that advances in weight-loss surgery, also called bariatric surgery, have made it as safe as any routine surgical procedure.

Dr. Eric J. DeMaria, vice chair of the department of surgery at Duke, reviewed data from nearly 60,000 patients and found it resulted in low complication and mortality rates.

Compiled from the largest repository of bariatric surgery patients ever recorded, the analysis indicates complication rates hover around 10 percent – with the most common complaint being nausea/vomiting.

Total mortality rate was under one percent with 78 deaths reported among 57,918 patients.

“The complication and mortality rates are even lower than have been reported in the past,” said DeMaria.

The researchers collected the data from participants in the ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program. All follow identical guidelines.

“We believe the Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program is one reason why there is an even further reduction in mortality being observed,” said DeMaria.

In this first analysis of bariatric surgery patients, the report found that almost all patients are between the ages of 19-65.

Less than one percent patients were under 19 while 5.67 percent are older than 65.

While three-quarters of people in the study were women, most of them were Caucasian.

African Americans comprised 10 percent of the patient population; Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans make up the rest.

Over half of the procedures performed are gastric bypass, followed by gastric banding.

The data collection effort is significant because “it will help us understand how to better care for bariatric surgery patients now and in the future,” said DeMaria.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Grapevine, TX. (ANI)

Weight-loss surgery cuts diabetes risk, improves fertility

Washington, Apr 12 (ANI): For people considering weight loss surgery, the operation can offer significant health benefits ranging from reversal of Type 2 diabetes to improving fertility and increasing an individual’s lifespan, says an expert.

Dr Nick Nicholson, weight loss surgeon on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Centre at Plano revealed how the surgery can actually improve certain health conditions.

“Because obesity is the primary risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, weight-loss surgery can have a profound impact on the condition,” said Dr. Nicholson.

A study showed that 82 percent reversed their diabetes in less than two years, and 62 percent remained of patients who had weight-loss surgery diabetes free two years following surgery.

The surgery can also improve fertility. Although most obese women are not infertile, ovulatory functions and pregnancy rates frequently improve significantly after weight loss in obese women.

Another study showed that hypertension was eliminated in 61.7 percent of weight-loss surgery patients and significantly improved in 78.5 percent of patients.

Weight-loss surgery can also ease the pain caused by the stress of extra weight on joints;

A 2004 study showed the number of painful joints and other painful areas reported by the obese adults in the study was cut in half six to 12 months after weight-loss surgery.

“Partnered with improved quality of life, the medical benefits of weight-loss surgery can’t be taken lightly; the surgery can truly lead to greater physical and emotional health and wellness,” said Dr. Nicholson. (ANI)