Rob43
12-08-2007, 06:11 AM
Implant surgeries have worked so far.
A surgery to implant a device shown to effectively treat type 2 diabetes is being offered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as part of a nationwide research study.
Roughly 100 people have had the experimental surgery, mostly in Europe. The blood-sugar levels of almost all were lowered "significantly." Type 2 diabetics have high levels of sugar in their bloodstream because the body can't properly convert it to energy.
After the operation, many patients were able to reduce the number of medications they were taking and some no longer needed medication at all, according to Dr. Bill Richards, Vanderbilt's Ingram Professor of Surgical Sciences.
"It's shown to improve blood sugar and we know that will significantly reduce the risk of complications from diabetes," Richards said. "The hope is that the disease won't progress to the point where people would need injections."
If proved successful and approved by the FDA, the procedure could have an enormous health impact for many of the 18 million Americans with type 2 diabetes who face developing complications such as vision loss, heart disease and amputation. Tennessee has the third-highest diabetes rate in the country; roughly one of 12 residents has the disease.
Toni Clayton, 47, is one such resident.
The Nashville woman takes two types of medications to control the disease, but fears that her condition will worsen and she will one day suffer serious health problems and be dependent on insulin injections. Clayton will be the first person to have the surgery at Vanderbilt on Monday.
"You see a lot of people who have had toes and limbs amputated," Clayton said. "Hopefully this could stop it from getting worse."
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is unable to use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that carries sugar to the cells, which is then converted to energy.
In type 2 diabetes, the sugar can't get into the cells. Instead, it builds up and is converted into a variety of components, including fat, that eventually cause circulatory restrictions leading to problems such as kidney failure and vision loss.
Vanderbilt is looking for 40 patients to participate in the study. To enroll, people must be 18 to 70 years old and overweight. In addition, they can't be taking insulin to treat their type 2 diabetes.
No one who had the surgery experienced significant complications. However, a small number of patients did get an infection at the incision site, which was effectively treated with antibiotics.
Device emits impulses
The one-hour diabetes surgery works like this: A device about the size of a cell phone is implanted in the abdomen. Electrodes connected to the device emit electrical impulses to the stomach when a person eats.
The electrical impulses stimulate hormones in the stomach. It's theorized that the hormones in the stomach play a role in converting sugar into energy. The electrical stimulation from the device may trigger them to perform that function.
"Right now we are pretty excited," Richards said. "It's reversible. It's minimally invasive. Early studies show it to be effective."
Richards said the device was originally created to induce weight loss.
"They found that it caused modest weight loss, but the effect on diabetes was much greater," Richards said.
Weight loss may be part of the reason blood sugar is lowered. Although type 2 diabetes also has genetic factors, excess weight and lack of exercise are believed to trigger the disease 58 percent of the time, according to the World Health Organization.
Many type 2's are obese
Not everyone with type 2 is overweight or obese, but 80 percent are.
Clayton is 70 pounds overweight. She said she had tried Weight Watchers, South Beach and a variety of other diets to no avail.
"I've been battling it," Clayton said. "I just can't seem to take it off."
Vanderbilt is one of three sites in the U.S. participating in the study, which is funded by MetaCure, the manufacturer of the device. Eventually the operation will be conducted at 30 sites around the country and involve 300 patients.
Richards says it's too early to say when the device might be available to the public, how much the procedure would cost and whether insurance would cover it. He thinks insurance coverage is likely, though, because some injection medications can cost around $7,500 per year.
Janie Lipps, with the American Diabetes Association of Middle Tennessee, said such research is more important than ever.
"The number of cases continues to go up," Lipps said. "Almost 10 percent of Tennesseans have diabetes. It's predicted that 1 in 3 Caucasian children born in 2000 and beyond will develop the disease unless we can find a way to halt the obesity prevalence in the country."
For more information about the study, call 343-5821 or 322-7555.
Vanderbilt will help test device to ease diabetes - Nashville, Tennessee - Saturday, 12/08/07 - Tennessean.com (http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071208/NEWS07/712080379/1024/NEWS)
A surgery to implant a device shown to effectively treat type 2 diabetes is being offered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as part of a nationwide research study.
Roughly 100 people have had the experimental surgery, mostly in Europe. The blood-sugar levels of almost all were lowered "significantly." Type 2 diabetics have high levels of sugar in their bloodstream because the body can't properly convert it to energy.
After the operation, many patients were able to reduce the number of medications they were taking and some no longer needed medication at all, according to Dr. Bill Richards, Vanderbilt's Ingram Professor of Surgical Sciences.
"It's shown to improve blood sugar and we know that will significantly reduce the risk of complications from diabetes," Richards said. "The hope is that the disease won't progress to the point where people would need injections."
If proved successful and approved by the FDA, the procedure could have an enormous health impact for many of the 18 million Americans with type 2 diabetes who face developing complications such as vision loss, heart disease and amputation. Tennessee has the third-highest diabetes rate in the country; roughly one of 12 residents has the disease.
Toni Clayton, 47, is one such resident.
The Nashville woman takes two types of medications to control the disease, but fears that her condition will worsen and she will one day suffer serious health problems and be dependent on insulin injections. Clayton will be the first person to have the surgery at Vanderbilt on Monday.
"You see a lot of people who have had toes and limbs amputated," Clayton said. "Hopefully this could stop it from getting worse."
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is unable to use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that carries sugar to the cells, which is then converted to energy.
In type 2 diabetes, the sugar can't get into the cells. Instead, it builds up and is converted into a variety of components, including fat, that eventually cause circulatory restrictions leading to problems such as kidney failure and vision loss.
Vanderbilt is looking for 40 patients to participate in the study. To enroll, people must be 18 to 70 years old and overweight. In addition, they can't be taking insulin to treat their type 2 diabetes.
No one who had the surgery experienced significant complications. However, a small number of patients did get an infection at the incision site, which was effectively treated with antibiotics.
Device emits impulses
The one-hour diabetes surgery works like this: A device about the size of a cell phone is implanted in the abdomen. Electrodes connected to the device emit electrical impulses to the stomach when a person eats.
The electrical impulses stimulate hormones in the stomach. It's theorized that the hormones in the stomach play a role in converting sugar into energy. The electrical stimulation from the device may trigger them to perform that function.
"Right now we are pretty excited," Richards said. "It's reversible. It's minimally invasive. Early studies show it to be effective."
Richards said the device was originally created to induce weight loss.
"They found that it caused modest weight loss, but the effect on diabetes was much greater," Richards said.
Weight loss may be part of the reason blood sugar is lowered. Although type 2 diabetes also has genetic factors, excess weight and lack of exercise are believed to trigger the disease 58 percent of the time, according to the World Health Organization.
Many type 2's are obese
Not everyone with type 2 is overweight or obese, but 80 percent are.
Clayton is 70 pounds overweight. She said she had tried Weight Watchers, South Beach and a variety of other diets to no avail.
"I've been battling it," Clayton said. "I just can't seem to take it off."
Vanderbilt is one of three sites in the U.S. participating in the study, which is funded by MetaCure, the manufacturer of the device. Eventually the operation will be conducted at 30 sites around the country and involve 300 patients.
Richards says it's too early to say when the device might be available to the public, how much the procedure would cost and whether insurance would cover it. He thinks insurance coverage is likely, though, because some injection medications can cost around $7,500 per year.
Janie Lipps, with the American Diabetes Association of Middle Tennessee, said such research is more important than ever.
"The number of cases continues to go up," Lipps said. "Almost 10 percent of Tennesseans have diabetes. It's predicted that 1 in 3 Caucasian children born in 2000 and beyond will develop the disease unless we can find a way to halt the obesity prevalence in the country."
For more information about the study, call 343-5821 or 322-7555.
Vanderbilt will help test device to ease diabetes - Nashville, Tennessee - Saturday, 12/08/07 - Tennessean.com (http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071208/NEWS07/712080379/1024/NEWS)