A new study gives the strongest evidence yet that obesity surgery can cure diabetes. Patients who had surgery to reduce the size of their stomachs were five times more likely to see their diabetes disappear over the next two years than were patients who had standard diabetes care, Health News reported.
Most of the surgery patients were able to stop taking diabetes drugs and achieve normal blood tests.
The patients had stomach band surgery, where gastric bypass surgery, or stomach stapling, predominates.
Gastric bypass is even more effective against diabetes, achieving remission in a matter of days or a month.
We have traditionally considered diabetes to be a chronic, progressive disease.
But these operations really do represent a realistic hope for curing most patients."
Diabetes experts who read the study said surgery should be considered for some obese patients, but more research is needed to see how long results last and which patients benefit most.
Surgery risks should be weighed against diabetes drug side effects and the long-term risks of diabetes itself. Experts generally agree that weight-loss surgery would never be appropriate for diabetics who are not obese, and current federal guidelines restrict the surgery to obese people.
The study involved 55 patients, so experts will be looking for results of larger experiments under way. This opens an entirely new way of thinking about diabetes."
Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and researchers are furiously pursuing reasons for the link as rates for both climb. What's known is that excess fat can cause the body's normal response to insulin to go haywire.
Researchers are investigating insulin-regulating hormones released by fat and the role of fatty acids in the blood. All the patients were obese and had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the past two years. Their average age was 47.
Half the patients underwent a type of surgery called laparoscopic gastric banding, where an adjustable silicone cuff is installed around the upper stomach, limiting how much a person can eat.
Both groups lost weight over two years; the surgery patients lost 46 pounds on average, while the standard-care patients lost an average of 3 pounds.
Blood tests showed diabetes remission in 22 of the 29 surgery patients after two years. In the standard-care group, only four of the 26 patients achieved that goal. The patients who lost the most weight were the most likely to eliminate their diabetes.
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