Obesity surgery seen as diabetes cure

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, according to Australian researchers. 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.

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.

Bonnie - one must keep in mind that the study involved 55 patients, a tiny number to create such a sweeping assumption.

The key here, however, is how long the results last. When gastric bypass is performed, it does cut off the stressor/inflammatory signals that contribute to diabetes. However, if positive lifestyle changes do not continue, the diabetes will come back. I think calling gastric bypass a cure is very misguided.