News Articles
A Probiotic for Obesity?
Source — New York Times
People with metabolic disorders may benefit from supplements of a common gut bacterium, a small pilot study suggests.
More Evidence Metabolic Surgery Superior to Drug Treatment in Patients With Obesity
Source — ASMBS
Metabolic or bariatric surgery was significantly more effective than medical management in treating type 2 diabetes in patients with milder forms of obesity, according to new research presented here at an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) national clinical symposium on obesity prevention, treatment and research.
Bariatric Surgery Slashes Spending on Diabetes and Hypertension Medications
Source — ASMBS
Patients with severe obesity who get weight-loss surgery cut their spending on diabetes medications by nearly 65 percent and spending on high blood pressure medications by more than a third three to six months after the operation, according to new research from Rush Medical College in Chicago presented here at an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) national clinical symposium on obesity prevention, treatment and research.
Are Fruit Juices Just as Unhealthy as Sugar-Sweetened Beverages?
Source — JAMA
Fruit juices are still widely perceived as a healthier option than SSBs. However, they often contain as much sugar and as many calories as SSBs. Although the sugar in 100% fruit juices is naturally occurring rather than added, once metabolized, the biological response is essentially the same.
Sleeping With the Lights on Tied to Weight Gain
Source — New York Times
The mechanism is unclear, but the researchers suggest that light may disrupt sleep enough to change levels of appetite-regulating hormones or cause daytime sleepiness that reduces physical activity.
A Possible Weight Loss Strategy: Skip Breakfast Before Exercise
Source — NY Times A new study finds that the choice to eat or omit a meal before an early workout could affect our relationship to food for the rest of the day.
Skipping breakfast before exercise might reduce how much we eat during the remainder of the day, according to a small but intriguing new study of fit young men.
The study finds that the choice to eat or omit a meal before an early workout could affect our relationship to food for the rest of the day, in complicated and sometimes unexpected ways.
Comparison of Laparoscopic 270° Posterior Partial Fundoplication vs Total Fundoplication for the Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease A Randomized Clinical Trial
Key Points
Question Is partial or total fundoplication superior in laparoscopic antireflux surgery?
Finding In this randomized clinical trial including 456 patients, partial and total fundoplication were equally effective in reducing esophageal acid exposure after 3 years, while mechanical adverse effects were more common after total fundoplication.
Meaning Although partial and total fundoplication could be recommended for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux, partial fundoplication might be superior by inducing less dysphagia.
Abstract
Importance Restoration of the esophagogastric junction competence is critical for effective long-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Surgical repair results in such restoration, but mechanical adverse effects seem unavoidable. Minimizing these adverse effects without jeopardizing reflux control is warranted.
Objective To determine whether partial fundoplication (PF) or total fundoplication (TF) is superior in laparoscopic antireflux surgery.
Design, Setting, and Participants In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial of 1171 patients scheduled for laparoscopic antireflux surgery at a single university-affiliated center between November 19, 2001, and January 24, 2006, 456 patients were randomized and followed up for 5 years. Data were collected from November 2001 to April 2012, and data were analyzed from April 2012 to September 2018.
Interventions A 270° posterior PF or a 360° Nissen TF.
Main Outcomes and Measures Esophageal acid exposure at 3 years after surgery.
Result Of the 456 randomized patients, 268 (58.8%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 49.0 (11.7) years. A total of 229 patients were randomized to PF, and 227 patients were randomized to TF. At 3 years postoperatively, the median (interquartile range) esophageal acid exposure was reduced from 14.6% (9.8-21.9) to 1.8% (0.7-4.4) after PF and from 16.0% (10.4-22.7) to 2.5% (0.8-6.8) after TF (P = .31). Likewise, reflux symptoms were equally and effectively controlled. Early postoperative dysphagia (6 weeks) was common in both groups but then decreased toward normality. A small but statistically significant difference in favor of PF was noted in the mean (SD) scoring of dysphagia for liquids at 6 weeks (PF, 1.6 [0.9]; TF, 1.9 [1.3]; P = .01) and for solid food at 12 months (PF, 1.3 [1.0]; TF, 1.9 [1.4]; P < .001) and 24 months (PF, 1.3 [0.9]; TF, 1.7 [1.2]; P = .001). Quality of life was reduced before surgery but increased to normal values after surgery and remained so over 5-year follow-up, with no difference between the groups.
Conclusions and Relevance The results from this randomized clinical trial suggest that although PF and TF could be recommended for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, PF might be superior by inducing less dysphagia.
Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03659487
Germs in Your Gut Are Talking to Your Brain. Scientists Want to Know What They’re Saying. - The New York Times
Source — NY Times Germs in Your Gut Are Talking to Your Brain. Scientists Want to Know What They’re Saying.
The body’s microbial community may influence the brain and behavior, perhaps even playing a role in dementia, autism and other disorders.
In 2014 John Cryan, a professor at University College Cork in Ireland, attended a meeting in California about Alzheimer’s disease. He wasn’t an expert on dementia. Instead, he studied the microbiome, the trillions of microbes inside the healthy human body.
Paging Dr. Pigeon; You’re Needed in Radiology
Source — nytimes
Well, yes. Pigeons have excellent vision and, it turns out, can be trained to identify malignant and benign breast tumors pretty much as a radiologist or a pathologist would — by looking at a mammogram or a slide from a biopsy.
Association Between Bariatric Surgery and Macrovascular Disease Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Severe Obesity
Source — Jama Network
Macrovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for patients with type 2 diabetes, and medical management, including lifestyle changes, may not be successful at lowering risk.
