A new study has found that bariatric weight-loss surgery may help in reversing diabetes in obese people.
According to Cleveland Clinic, the weight-loss surgery can remarkably help those diabetics who have gone under knife.
“They (obese people) don’t need to have those daily doses of insulin injections and medications after few years of the procedure”, the researchers said.
More than 90 percent of patients who received bariatric surgery were able to lose 25 percent of their body weight.
Dr. Sangeeta Kashyap, one of the study’s lead investigators, said, “Initially we thought diabetes was a disease you could not reverse or end. We do realize now that there may be a treatment that could end diabetes for some people and that’s exciting.”
For the study, the researchers enrolled 150 patients. A third of patients underwent gastric bypass surgery with medications for the study.
Gastric bypass is a surgical procedure that shrinks the size of the stomach into a small pouch by stapling a section of the stomach.
Another third of patients in the study had a sleeve gastrectomy, i.e. a partial part of their stomach was removed, and then took medications.
And at last the remaining third received only medications and psychological counseling.
After a three year period, the researchers found that 37.5 percent of patients who had gastric bypass surgery were able to stabilize their blood sugar to healthy levels without medication.
While 24.5 percent of patients who underwent the sleeve gastectomy were able to control their blood sugar without medications, only 5 percent of those who received only medication and counseling were able to successfully control their diabetes.
Study participants who underwent bariatric surgery were also able to reduce their doses of blood pressure and cholesterol medications.
The study named, STAMPEDE (Surgical Therapy And Medications Potentially Eradicate Diabetes Efficiently), was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is the largest randomized clinical trial published that analyses the effectiveness of various intervention available for obese and diabetic patients.
The study was presented at the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Washington, D.C.
