Can New Surgery Revolutionize Diabetes Treatment?

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Endocrinology;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 15 May 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Metabolic surgery, a new surgical approach to metabolic disease, may provide the key to curing diabetes in some patients. This data was presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.

"This goes beyond just weight-loss surgery," Chief of Gastrointestinal Metabolic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College Francesco Rubino, MD, said. "For its clinical potential, and maybe even more for its implications for the understanding of diabetes, metabolic surgery is one of the most important research opportunities for the next decade in medicine."

According to Dr. Rubino, a growing body of evidence suggests that the mechanisms of diabetes resolution after surgery involve intestinal signals: "I am confident that we may see important discoveries occur as we direct our attention to the role of the bowel in diabetes."

Recent studies have indicated that bariatric surgery, an approach typically used to treat severe obesity, often results in normalization of blood sugar levels and other metabolic abnormalities. This results in a reduction of the overall risk of mortality associated with diabetes in severely obese patients.

Dr Rubino's personal research showed for the first time that the effects of bariatric surgery on diabetes cannot be entirely explained by weight loss, and are intrinsic with the change of intestinal anatomy characteristic of these procedures. As a result, experts have been studying the biological impacts of the surgery on mechanisms of glycemic control, and are exploring the possibility to use gastrointestinal surgery to treat diabetes per se.

"It would be premature at this point to argue every diabetes patient is a candidate for gastrointestinal surgery," Dr. Rubino said. "However, there is enough evidence that surgery should be considered as an option to endocrinologists in the treatment of type 2 diabetes."

Metabolic surgery is the result of a collaborative effort between endocrinologists and surgeons working to optimize the surgery for diabetes patients. Together they can formulate a "tailored intervention," designing procedures that allow them to gain a greater understanding of how the disease works.

"Recognizing the need to work as a team across disciplines that includes endocrinologists and surgeons is the first critical step to address the issues and opportunities that surgery offers to diabetes care and research," Dr. Rubino said.

Thus far the results are intriguing: "This collaborative effort is helping us gain a broader, more comprehensive understanding of diabetes," Rubino said. "In the end it will pay dividends for patients."

For more information about diabetes, download the American College of Endocrinology's (ACE) "Power of Prevention(R)" Magazine here. The magazine features medical information on prediabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, diabetes complications, and tips on how diabetes patients can best prepare for disaster.

About AACE

AACE is a professional medical organization with more than 6,200 members in the United States and 92 other countries. Founded in 1991, AACE is dedicated to the optimal care of patients with endocrine problems. AACE initiatives inform the public about endocrine disorders. AACE also conducts continuing education programs for clinical endocrinologists, physicians whose advanced, specialized training enables them to be experts in the care of endocrine diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, growth hormone deficiency, osteoporosis, cholesterol disorders, hypertension and obesity.

Source: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists