Surgery Proves Effective at Treating Type 2 Diabetes: Study

Bariatric surgery might help put type two diabetes into remission for several year, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, sheds some light on the other potential benefits of surgeies developed to help shed some pounds.

According to the study, the more intensive the weight-loss surgery, the more likely a type two diabetic patient was to go into remission.

For instance, patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery, a very invasive and involved surgery, proved far more likely to reign in their type two diabetes post-surgery, compared to diabetics who only underwent a sleeve gastrectomy - a minor bariatric surgery.

The research team behind the study observed and recorded the varying benefits that three different approaches to treating type two diabetes had on 150 middle-aged diabetics. Of these patients, the average body-mass-index (MBI) was 37; all participants could be classified as obese and qualified for bariatric surgery.

According to the study, the researchers randomly selected a third of the participants to receive intensive medical therapy, and the other two thirds to receive or of two types of surgery. Half the participants of the second group underwent a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass - the traditional intensive surgical approach to treating severe obesity. The other half underwent sleeve gastrectomies, which reduce the size of the stomach to aid a patient in controlling their weight and rate of food consumption.

Following surgery, the surgical groups also received standard medical therapy for their type two diabetes, same as the non-surgical group.

All three groups were observed following the surgery, with their BMI and the state of their diabetes being followed up on three years after the initial study.

As was expected, weight reductions occurred in all three groups, with the highest weight reductions occurring among the gastric bypass group, and the lowest occurring among the non-surgical group.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that the highest percentage of patients who had their diabetes enter remission during the three year follow-up were the surgical groups.

According to authors of the study, this is likely because traditional medications for type two diabetes, such as the ones all participants received, have a tendency to make weight-loss harder while simultaneously helping patients manage their condition. This is where weight-loss surgery can help, eliminating the negative effect of the medication and helping reign in their type two diabetes even further.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on March 31.

Other recent studies have found additional benefits of bariatric surgery, including a drop in heart attack risk.