67% of gastric bypass patients were in complete remission for diabetes type 2 after 12 months, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center reported at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). They added that 96% of those not already on insulin and who did not have lower pancreatic function went into remission after weight-loss surgery within 12 months.
Remission was less likely among those with a glucose disposition index (GDI) 30% of normal. GDI can tell the doctor how well the pancreas is producing insulin, as well as how effectively the insulin is being used by the body to regulate the breakdown of fats and carbohydrates.
Remission rates were not affected by either the patients’ pre-surgery body weights, nor by how much weight they might have lost six weeks or twelve months after their procedures.
Remission here means the patient no longer needs medication to achieve proper control of elevated blood sugar.