Blog
8th Apr, 2020
During this long stretch of “shelter at home” or whatever form of coronavirus lockdown you are enduring, let’s remember the importance of getting daily regular exercise. That’s right, daily – meaning every day! It's not easy, but we'll all benefit from the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of regular exercise. Follow our seven tips for getting exercise in the time of COVID. Commit to “Putting… Read more »
31st Mar, 2020
In the recent 2019 publication, Felsenreich and colleagues do a thorough job examining all of the long term reported studies and data regarding sleeve gastrectomy outcomes. The results paint a picture of a very safe and very effective procedure, with a few limitations. From the Report First of all, the average overall weight loss beyond five years among the four studies with the longest followup… Read more »
19th Feb, 2020
Bladder leakage is one of the most common problems among Americans over the age of 40. For some, it is related to pregnancy or prostate problems and can be considered a minor nuisance. But for others, bladder leakage is embarrassing and disruptive to daily life. Bowel leakage can occur for many of the same reasons — past pregnancy, aging, pelvic radiation, surgery, spinal injury, and nerve… Read more »
31st Jan, 2020
Most people lose a large amount of weight and keep it off long term, but a significant number of people will regain weight in the years after metabolic surgery. Others will simply not lose adequate amounts of weight or not completely reverse their type 2 diabetes, often due to genetic factors, or simply because of starting at a very high BMI. Today, there are excellent… Read more »
6th Dec, 2019
Obesity adversely affects brain function, but the effect of bariatric surgery on cognitive function had not been rigorously evaluated. A recent JAMA study assessed metabolic parameters and cognitive function in obese patients before and after bariatric surgery. And the results are striking: significant improvement in cognitive function as measured by both the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) 6 months after… Read more »
21st Nov, 2019
To date, there have been 12 RCTs comparing metabolic surgery to intensive medical management. We have highlighted a couple of those studies including the STAMPEDE trial from the Cleveland Clinic in prior newsletters, but this month gives a broader perspective and the Position Statement of International Diabetes Organizations on the role of metabolic surgery. Below is depicted the profound effect of metabolic surgery in… Read more »
24th Oct, 2019
In the recent 2019 paper published in JAMA, authors from the Cleveland Clinic reported on the care of over 13,000 individuals with type 2 diabetes. And similar to prior randomized controlled trials, and other large matched cohort studies, this carefully designed matched cohort study of diabetes care found large reductions in stoke, heart attack, mortality, and renal failure among patient undergoing metabolic surgery compared to… Read more »
26th Sep, 2019
A look at the published results of the LOOK-AHEAD Trial. The NIH-sponsored LookAhead trial was a randomized controlled trial involving 5,145 individuals comparing an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention (ILI) to a Diabetes Support and Education (DSE) in overweight and obese type 2 diabetes patients to track the development of cardiovascular disease over time. The trial intervention, at a cost of $15 million was stopped for futility… Read more »
29th Aug, 2019
It is now widely known that metabolic surgery provides a profound reduction in type 2 diabetes metrics among obese individuals, with durable published remissions in a high percentage of patients beyond 10 years. Metabolic surgery reverses the type 2 diabetes completely in the first year in most obese individuals, and surgery induces a profound survival advantage, as well as dramatic reductions in blindness, kidney failure… Read more »
26th Jul, 2019
Obese individuals suffer an increased risk of cancer, and an increase in cancer mortality compared to non-obese Americans. Now a large population-based study confirms that cancer incidence drops dramatically after metabolic surgery. Numerous cohort studies have shown metabolic surgery decreases cancer risk. A previous large-scale prospectively matched 10-year surgical intervention trial identified that patients undergoing bariatric surgery had a significantly reduced risk of developing cancer… Read more »