Study Reassess Effectiveness Of Weight Loss Surgery For Diabetes

Thu, 05 Jan 2012

Gastric bypass weight-loss surgery can help people with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar, but it is not as effective in tackling the disease as previously thought.

Some researchers have argued that as many 80 per cent of people with diabetes who receive a gastric bypass procedure go on to be rid of the disease.

However, a new study carried out by scientists at Imperial College London found that the rate of remission was actually half that at 41 per cent.

Type 2 diabetes is normally treated with insulin injections and drugs to regulate blood sugar levels . However, many diabetic patients who undergo stomach surgery to reduce their weight report an improvement in their condition, some even before they have lost any weight.

The Imperial College research, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, analysed previous data on 209 type 2 diabetics to evaluate the effectiveness of three types of weight loss surgery .

It concluded that gastric bypass caused the best rate of remission and was therefore the most effective type.

Carel le Roux, at Imperial College London’s medicine department, said: "Using the new criteria we don’t get such eye-catching figures as some that have been quoted in recent years. But it’s clear that weight-loss surgery, particularly gastric bypass, has a significant beneficial effect on glucose control .

"Diabetes is a chronic, multisystem disease. Stomach surgery may not mean that patients can stop taking diabetes medication, but surgery and medication together achieve better results than either treatment on its own."

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