ly to see their diabetes disap- pear over the next two years. than were patients who had standard diabetes care, Aus- tralian researchers said. Most of the …
READING EAGLE, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008
HEALTH | A3
Obesity surgery cures diabetes in some, study says
Patients who had the size of their stomachs reduced were five times more likely to see their disease disappear than patients who had standard care
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — 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, Australian researchers said Most of the surgery patients were able to stop taking diabetes drugs and achieve normal blood tests Its the best therapy for dia-
betes that we have today, and its very low risk, said the studys lead author, Dr John B Dixon of Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia The patients had stomach band surgery, a procedure more common in Australia than in the United States, 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, said Dr David E Cummings of the University
of Washington in Seat-
tle, who wrote an accompanying editorial in todays Journal of the American Medical Association but was not involved in the study 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, they said The diabetes benefits of weight-loss surgery were known, but the Australian study is the first of its kind to compare diabetes in patients randomly assigned to surgery or standard care Scientists consider randomize 
d studies to yield the
Curbing diabetes
Type 2 diabetes disappeared over two years in most patients receiving stomach reduction surgery, as opposed to standard diabetes care, according to a study
73
Diabetes remission
13
Conventional therapy
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
Surgery
AP
highest-quality evidence The study involved 55 patients, so experts will be looking for results of larger experiments under way
Few studies really qualify as being a landmark study said Dr Philip R Schauer, who was
not involved in the Australian research but leads a Cleveland Clinic study that is recruiting 150 obese people with diabetes to compare two types of surgery and standard medical care Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and researchers are furiously pursuing reasons for the link as rates for both climb Whats known is that excess fat can cause the bodys 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 In the Australian study, 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
Source:faustmanlab.org
