Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, JAMA, Orthopedics, Osteoporosis, Surgical Research / 15.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elaine W. Yu, MD, MMSc Assistant Professor,  Harvard Medical School Director, Bone Density Center Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is a popular surgical weight loss procedure.  We have previously shown that gastric bypass leads to rapid high-turnover bone loss. Bariatric procedures are being increasingly performed in older adults, and the clinical consequences of gastric bypass-associated skeletal changes in this vulnerable population have been unclear to date.  Thus, we used Medicare claims data to investigate fracture risk among older adults after gastric bypass, and in comparison to adults who received another bariatric procedure called adjustable gastric banding (AGB), which is thought to have fewer negative bone effects. In our analysis, we found that patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were 73% more likely to fracture than those undergoing AGB. Importantly, we found that hip fracture risk increased nearly 180% after RYGB, and that fracture rates in patients aged 65 or older were similar to the overall group.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, OBGYNE, Surgical Research / 16.01.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charles Billington MD Chief, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism Minneapolis VA Health Care System Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: We wanted to know if adding gastric bypass to intense lifestyle and medical therapy would improve overall diabetes treatment as represented by the triple endpoint of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol control. We found that adding gastric bypass did provide significant benefit at five years after surgery, but that the size of the benefit declined substantially from the first to the fifth year. We also found that gastric bypass did provide significantly better blood sugar control throughout the five years, but the rate of diabetes remission at five years was low. There were many more adverse events in the gastric bypass group.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, NEJM, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 20.09.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ted Adams PhD Adjunct Professor, Internal Medicine Adjunct Associate Professor, Nutrition & Integrative Physiology The University of Utah  MedicalResearch.com: Why did you decide to conduct this study? Response: The primary aim of the study was to determine the clinical outcomes in patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery. As NIDDK/NIH continued to fund the study, the aim was extended to determining the durability) long-term outcomes) of gastric bypass surgery when compared to non-surgical, severely obese patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, JAMA, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 02.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew Leonard Maciejewski, PhD Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine Department of Medicine Duke University School of Medicine Research Career Scientist and Director of the Health Economics and Policy Unit in the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care Durham VA Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: No study based on a US cohort undergoing current procedures has examined weight change comparing surgical patients and nonsurgical patients for as long as we have. This is the first study to report 10-year outcomes on gastric bypass patients and compare them to matched patients who did not get surgery. At 1 year, gastric bypass patients lost 31% of their baseline weight compared controls who only lost 1.1% of their baseline weight. At 10 years, gastric bypass had lost 28% of their baseline weight. We also compared weight loss at 4 years for Veterans who received the 3 most common procedures (gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and adjustable gastric banding). At 4 years, patients undergoing gastric bypass lost more weight than patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy or gastric banding. Given that few high quality studies have examined sleeve gastrectomy to 4 years, the 4-year sleeve outcomes contribute to filling this important evidence gap as the sleeve gastrectomy is now the most commonly performed bariatric procedure worldwide. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gender Differences, Kidney Disease, Mayo Clinic, Weight Research / 31.07.2014

Dr. John C. Lieske, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MNMedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. John C. Lieske, MD Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lieske: We followed 11 women before, 6 and 12 months after Roux en Y gastric bypass surgery.  The patients successfully lost weight as mean BMI fell from 46 kg/m2 preoperatively to 28 kg/m2 postoperatively.   Mean serum creatinine did not significantly change from baseline (0.8 mg/dl) to 12 months (0.7 mg/dl).  Hence mean GFR estimated by the CKD-EPI equation (eGFR) did not significantly change from 84 ml/min/1.73 m2 (baseline) to 90 ml/min/1.73 m2 (12 months).  However, GFR measured by iothalamate clearance (mGFR) significantly decreased from 108 ml/min/1.73m2 (121 ml/min) to 85 ml/min/1.73 m2 (90 ml/min). (more…)
Diabetes, Weight Research / 27.06.2014

Su Ann Ding, MBBS Research Fellow Joslin Diabetes Center Boston, MassachusettsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Su Ann Ding, MBBS Research Fellow Joslin Diabetes Center Boston, Massachusetts MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of Roux-en- Y gastric bypass with an intensive diabetes and weight management program. We recruited 38 obese individuals (BMI 30-42 kg/m2) with type 2 diabetes. Participants had suboptimal glucose control and mean diabetes duration of 10 years. Both surgical and non-surgical interventions led to patients losing a clinically significant amount of weight and keeping it off for 2 years, with average loss of approximately 57 pounds (25% of initial body weight) for the surgery group and 13 pounds (6% of initial weight) for the lifestyle and medication modification group. Other important health goals also improved more in the surgical group, including improvements in blood sugar control, blood pressure and lipid levels which together may contribute to reducing risk of developing coronary heart disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 30.04.2014

Mr. David Bowrey, MD FRCS (Gen Surg) MMedEd FHEA Consultant General / Oesophagogastric Surgeon & Honorary Senior Lecturer, Dept Cancer Studies, Training Programme Director for Core Surgery, East Midlands South University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester Royal InfirmaryMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mr. David Bowrey, MD FRCS (Gen Surg) MMedEd FHEA  Consultant General / Oesophagogastric Surgeon & Honorary Senior Lecturer, Dept Cancer Studies, Training Programme Director for Core Surgery, East Midlands South University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester Royal Infirmary MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Bowrey: Of 103 patients who had undergone Roux en Y gastric bypass surgery, changes in appetite, taste and smell were noted in 97%, 73% and 42% respectively. Seventy-three percent of patients developed aversions to certain types of foods, most frequently meat, starch and dairy produce. The change in taste sensation for the three common modalities of "sweet", "salt" and "sour" was decreased in some patients and increased in other patients. Patients who experienced food aversions typically experienced more weight loss than patients not developing aversions. (more…)