40 minute operation to beat diabetes | News | This is London
In a clinical trial which is due to start this month, 50 patients are having the procedure, which has been shown to be effective in research on animals and on a small number of people.
In one study, some patients experienced big drops in blood-sugar levels almost immediately.
The treatment, known as duodenal exclusion, involves bypassing part of the upper small intestine or duodenum, so that food from the stomach goes directly into the lower small intestine.
Most food is turned into glucose which the body uses for energy. One of the duodenum's jobs is to break down fats, sugars and other compounds in the food before they get into the next part of the small intestine.
The nutrients are then absorbed into the body before the material passes into the colon.
One of the reasons the surgery may help to reduce diabetes symptoms is because it reduces the amount of food patients are able to digest. People who are overweight - with a body mass index over 25 - are more at risk of Type 2 diabetes.
In particular, people who are an apple shape - with lots of fat around the abdomen -are at greater risk of developing diabetes.
"If you bypass the duodenum you won't absorb food as well. There will be less digestion," says Professor David Matthews, a diabetes specialist at Oxford University.
An earlier study, in non-obese patients, reported that the procedure led to big improvements in two patients who had high glucose levels.
Their glucose levels were back to normal within four months of the operation.
In the trial, sponsored by U.S. Medical and taking place in Brazil, the patients, aged 20 to 65, will have the surgery and will then be monitored for a year.
Exactly how the surgery works is not clear. One theory is that, as well as reducing food absorption, it may have an impact on the hormones involved in regulating food intake.
Decreased levels of some hormones - which have resulted from the surgery in some cases - could have a beneficial effect on glucose.
Professor Matthews says: "It is worth doing the trial. Patients will lose weight and their diabetes will probably improve. It is an expensive way of approaching diabetes, but it should be effective in a lot of people, although some will get side-effects."
He adds: "One downside is that if you miss out the small intestine you can get excessive diarrhoea and some malabsorption, where you don't absorb vitamins properly."
In a clinical trial which is due to start this month, 50 patients are having the procedure, which has been shown to be effective in research on animals and on a small number of people.
In one study, some patients experienced big drops in blood-sugar levels almost immediately.
The treatment, known as duodenal exclusion, involves bypassing part of the upper small intestine or duodenum, so that food from the stomach goes directly into the lower small intestine.
Most food is turned into glucose which the body uses for energy. One of the duodenum's jobs is to break down fats, sugars and other compounds in the food before they get into the next part of the small intestine.
The nutrients are then absorbed into the body before the material passes into the colon.
One of the reasons the surgery may help to reduce diabetes symptoms is because it reduces the amount of food patients are able to digest. People who are overweight - with a body mass index over 25 - are more at risk of Type 2 diabetes.
In particular, people who are an apple shape - with lots of fat around the abdomen -are at greater risk of developing diabetes.
"If you bypass the duodenum you won't absorb food as well. There will be less digestion," says Professor David Matthews, a diabetes specialist at Oxford University.
An earlier study, in non-obese patients, reported that the procedure led to big improvements in two patients who had high glucose levels.
Their glucose levels were back to normal within four months of the operation.
In the trial, sponsored by U.S. Medical and taking place in Brazil, the patients, aged 20 to 65, will have the surgery and will then be monitored for a year.
Exactly how the surgery works is not clear. One theory is that, as well as reducing food absorption, it may have an impact on the hormones involved in regulating food intake.
Decreased levels of some hormones - which have resulted from the surgery in some cases - could have a beneficial effect on glucose.
Professor Matthews says: "It is worth doing the trial. Patients will lose weight and their diabetes will probably improve. It is an expensive way of approaching diabetes, but it should be effective in a lot of people, although some will get side-effects."
He adds: "One downside is that if you miss out the small intestine you can get excessive diarrhoea and some malabsorption, where you don't absorb vitamins properly."
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