It was another busy month reporting the latest bariatric and metabolic, and obesity-related disease news. We hope we have brought you the latest and most interesting news as it happened. Here are the Top 10 most read articles on Bariatric News in January 2024.
ForePass endoscopic device results in 79% reduction in weight gain compared to the control group
The ForePass endoscopic device (Keyron Ltd.) results in a 79% reduction in weight gain compared to the control group in a swine model, suggesting it may be substantially more effective than common metabolic surgeries like gastric bypass. ForePass is an innovative device that combines a funnel-shaped gastric balloon linked to an intestinal sleeve, which according to the device’s manufacturer Keyron effectively replicates the mechanism of metabolic surgery without the need for surgery or making any incisions. The device is inserted into the stomach and proximal intestine using endoscopy, a less invasive and cheaper procedure compared to metabolic surgery. Unlike metabolic surgery, ForePass is fully reversible, making it an appealing option, especially considering that the vast majority of patients with metabolic diseases reject invasive surgery...(more)
Surgery does not reduce mental health issues among adolescents, increases risk of early alcohol problems
Adolescents who have had bariatric surgery do not improve their mental health despite significant and permanent weight loss, according to the largest long-term study of young people who have undergone bariatric surgery, conducted at Lund University and Karolinska Institutet, among others. Indeed, the study - the largest long-term study in the world of young people who have had bariatric surgery - also found surgery also increases the risk of early alcohol problems...(more)
Bariatric surgery may slow cognitive decline
People with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery had stable cognition two years later, suggesting that bariatric surgery may mitigate the natural history of cognitive decline expected in people with obesity, according to investigators at Michigan Medicine. Using a collection of memory and language tests developed by the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, the research team assessed over 85 bariatric surgery patients at two-year follow up (77 (88.5%) participants that underwent sleeve gastrectomy and 10 (11.5%) that underwent gastric bypass surgery). They found that NIH Cognitive Battery test scores remained stable, with secondary executive function tests showing improvement. One of the memory assessments, however, declined following surgery...(more)
Banded sleeve gastrectomy outperforms standard LSG but has higher incidence of post-op regurgitation symptoms
Laparoscopic banded sleeve gastrectomy (LBSG) showed a substantial decrease in BMI at three-year follow-up and higher %EWL at one, two and three year time points, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis by researchers from the Middle East. However, LBSG procedures exhibited a higher incidence of post-operative regurgitation symptoms than standard LSG. At six months, BMI was estimated only in four studies encompassing 451 patients with no substantial difference between LBSG and LSG groups. However, at 12 months, BMI was compared in five studies, including 1,862 patients, with no substantial difference between the two groups (p=0.13). Similarly, four studies including 1,771 patients at 24 months observed no substantial difference between LBSG and LSG groups (p=0.17)...(more)
Perioperative risk should not be a main deciding factor in the choice of procedure
Both sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass can be performed with a similar and low perioperative risk therefore, the perioperative risk should not be a main deciding factor in the choice of procedure, according to the findings of a study conducted at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Every year, around 5,000 bariatric procedures are performed in Sweden. The person undergoing surgery will normally have a BMI of at least 40, or 35 if they also have other serious medical conditions related to obesity. The most common procedures are gastric bypass and sleeve. The aim of the current study was to compare the short-term risks of the different procedures...(more)
Bariatric surgery improves lung function in patients with obesity and asthma
Bariatric surgery, initiates "substantial weight loss and improves lung function, according to researchers from the University of Vermont. Researchers also found post-surgery plasma collected from volunteers showed a reduced inflammatory response from cells that line the airways compared to pre-surgery plasma. The findings of this study align with previous literature, which also show the benefits of bariatric surgery such as weight loss and improved lung function...(more)
Gut microbiome altered by surgery improves metabolism independent of weight loss and other metabolic factors
Researchers at the University of Toronto (U of T), Canada, and its partner hospitals, have reported that changes in gut microbiota after bariatric surgery can directly improve metabolism, independent of food intake, weight loss and other metabolic factors. The preclinical findings add to evidence that microbiome-based therapies such as probiotics and faecal matter transplants have the potential to improve metabolic health, and may one day reduce the need for weight-loss surgery...(more)
Bariatric surgery can impair midwall left ventricular dysfunction in certain patients one-year after surgery
Patients with severe obesity and in particular women with hypertension, higher level of inflammation and reduced ejection fraction, have impaired left ventricular (LV) midwall mechanics one year after bariatric surgery, according to researchers from Norway. It is known that excess adipose tissue impacts every organ system and is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk and subclinical cardiac dysfunction. The Global Burden of Disease Study has identified obesity as the direct cause of 11% of heart failure cases in men and 14% in women. The investigators said Bariatric Burgery on the West Coast of Norway study (a prospective follow-up of patients with obesity referred for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery on the West Coast of Norway (2012–2016)), has shown that impaired cardiac mechanics in the longitudinal or radial direction is largely prevalent in middle-aged patients with severe obesity...(more)
Over 80% of the general population of Saudi Arabian are aware of post-SG complications
Researchers from Saudi Arabia have reported that more than 80% those who took part in a survey were aware of the possible complications following sleeve gastrectomy. Ina survey of 1,013 participants, a total of 692 (68%) participants showed awareness of BMI; in addition, 987 (97%) were aware of gastric sleeve surgery, and 538 (53%) understood its indications correctly. Regarding SG complications, approximately 821 (81%) of the participants exhibited awareness. Most of the respondents were aware of haemorrhage, nutritional and mineral deficiencies, and iron deficiency as acute complications, while most of the respondents were aware of chronic complications, including anaemia, iron deficiency, as well as nutritional and mineral deficiencies...(more)
Look AHEAD study: T2DM remission associated with lower rates of heart and kidney disease
Patients that took part in the Look AHEAD study and who subsequently lost weight and experienced remission in T2DM (using diet and lifestyle), had a 40% lower rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 33% lower rate of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The Look AHEAD study was a multi-centre RCT that compared the effect of a 12-year intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) with that of diabetes support and education (DSE) on CVD and other long-term health conditions. The study, carried out between 2001 and 2016, recruited and randomised 5,145 adults with overweight or obesity (BMI >25 kg/m2 for non-insulin users or BMI >27 kg/m2 for insulin users) aged 45–76 years with type 2 diabetes...(more)