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New sausage skin device to cure diabetes unveiled
Tue, 09 Aug 2011
Scientists in the UK have developed a new implantable device which they claim can beat diabetes and provide a safer way of reducing weight .

Dr. John Mason, of the Trafford Healthcare National Health Service Trust UK, and colleagues say that the two-feet-long plastic sleeve, which looks like a giant sausage skin, acts as a safer, incision-less alternative to a weight loss surgery known as duodenal switch, and can reverse diabetes within weeks.

During a duodenal switch, an incision is made to the start and end of the duodenum, which is the first 10 to 12 inches of the small intestine that is connected to the stomach, so that food can only be absorbed lower down the intestine. However the surgery has a number of long term effects including hernia and bowel obstruction.

The new device, called the EndoBarrier, provides the same benefit as the surgery but is safer as the plastic sleeve is used to line the duodenum.

Implanting the sleeve requires a short procedure, performed under anaesthetic, whereby the device is inserted via the mouth and passed into the digestive tract using a thin tube. Once in place, a sprung titanium anchor prevents it slipping out.

During trails of the EndoBarrier, the researchers found that overweight and obese patients who also suffered from diabetes showed remission of the metabolic disease .

At first the scientists thought that it was the result of weight loss, but they soon found that patients were able to stop taking their diabetes medicines even before they showed any improvement in weight.

The discovery has led to clinical trials at three British hospitals, which found the device also lowers cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
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