Asian Scientist (Oct. 22, 2013) – Clinical researchers in Australia have shown that a form of weight loss surgery, known as ‘gastric banding’, brings about reversal of diabetes in some patients, and dramatic improvement of glucose tolerance in others, within 12 weeks.
Often referred to as a ‘lifestyle disease’, type II diabetes is prevalent in societies with sedentary lifestyles and high-fat, high-sugar, diets. It is a complex metabolic disorder that develops over time, with the body becoming progressively less able to control blood sugar levels. High blood sugars cause damage to tissues and organs, and can lead to very serious complications such as kidney failure and blindness.
Weight loss surgery in obese people with type II diabetes has been shown to be more effective at controlling diabetes than standard diabetes treatments. One such surgery is gastric banding which involves placing an inflatable ring between the esophagus and stomach, making it possible to eat only small amounts of food slowly.
Previous studies have shown very rapid improvements in diabetes following more invasive and riskier forms of surgery, but not for gastric banding.
The new study, published in Diabetologia, followed 15 morbidly obese patients (body mass index over 40) who underwent gastric banding surgery. All had had type II diabetes for at least five years, and most patients required anti-diabetic medications.
“We’ve known for many years that weight reduction improves diabetes, with recent strong evidence that bariatric surgery substantially improves diabetes. This is the first study to show such dramatic benefits within two weeks using gastric banding,” said Professor Katherine Samaras, who led the study.
“As a treatment, I suspect that bariatric surgery works by giving people a means of consistently keeping their calorie intake down. That’s why it’s so effective for rapid diabetes control and for weight loss in the longer term. For diabetes, diet is the cornerstone for management and control of the disease.”
The article can be found at: Samaras et al. (2013) Immune Cell-Mediated Inflammation And The Early Improvements In Glucose Metabolism After Gastric Banding Surgery.
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Source: Garvan Institute; Photo: Skley/Flickr/CC.
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