Double Benefits : Gastric Bypass = Weight Loss + Type 2 Diabetes Remission

The results of a new study may prove to be the best news for people suffering from obesity and type 2 diabetesdefine. According to the study, weight loss surgery may help not just curb obesity, but also put into remission type 2 diabetes.

The study, conducted by scientists at Durham, North Carolina’s Duke University Medical Center, states, however, that the extent of remission was dependent on the amount of weight loss during the initial months post-surgery. Type 2 diabetesdefine and obesity are often interlinked, i.e. an obese person stands a very good chance of developing type 2 diabetes.

The study was conducted by a team led by Dr. Eric DeMaria. The subjects of the study were 71 patients with high degree of obesity and type 2 diabetes. All the patients were using high levels of insulindefine along with other medication administered orally.

One of the aims of the study was to determine specific reasons for only some of the patients going into type 2 diabetes remission and not all.

Scientists have been of the opinion that remission of type 2 diabetes happens because of hormonal changes effected as a result of the gastricdefine bypass surgery. However, the study by Dr. DeMaria and his team indicates remission of type 2 diabetes may not entirely be because of the hormonesdefine. Instead, it identifies weight loss during the initial months post-surgery as a key to the process.

At the end of the study, the team discovered that all the 71 patients were into remission for type 2 diabetes, though the number that went into total remission stood at a mere 48%. According to the researchers, one of the major factors in diabetes remission was the weight loss achieved in the first three to six weeks after surgery.

Speaking about the importance of weight loss in the initial months post-bariatric surgery, Dr. DeMaria said, “Gastric bypass surgery appears to cause important metabolic effects that rapidly improve type 2 diabetes, but weight loss itself is also extremely important. We found that the most important factor was the amount of weight loss by the patient.”

The team has not, however, discounted totally the role that the changing hormones have to play in enabling remission. Speaking about this, Dr. DeMaria said, “Morbidly obese patients usually lose about 10 percent of their body weight within three weeks of surgery, but that does not explain why they can cut back on their medications within the first day or two.”

According to him, this could be triggered by the effect the surgery has on the hormones secreted in the stomach, which has a major influence in enabling increased resistance to insulin. However, he still stressed on the role of weight loss in enabling diabetes remission.

Gastric bypass involves cutting out a portion of the stomach and reducing the space to accommodate food inside. An additional step is the creation of a secondary route, like a bypass that ensures food passes through without entering the remaining part of the stomach and a portion of the small intestinedefine.

By ensuring the food bypasses the rest of the stomach, the surgeon is able to ensure that there is limited availability of calorific content and also limited absorption of nutrients, thereby initiating the weight reduction process.

Dr. DeMaria presented the findings of his team in Washington, D.C., at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery’s annual meeting.