Diabetes, contrary to what most sufferers believe, is a serious disease that we know – more or less – control, but absolutely no cure. Now, completely by chance, doctors have since observed that obesity surgery has been widely applied, that some patients saw their diabetes disappear, quite quickly following the operation. Remission or cure? It is still too early to conclude … But the discovery of this phenomenon is not without posing serious ethical problems.
Diabetes specialists, gathered this week in Nantes for their annual congress of the SFD, the Francophone Society of Diabetes, were full of praise for what they had heard during a morning devoted to what they call the metabolic surgery, which is actually nothing but obesity surgery
It is a discovery due to chance. By operating on some obese, we realized that their diabetes disappeared in a totally mysterious way. A healing that makes a lot of noise because it is spectacular and it is poorly explained.
The technique, a ring formerly, today rather a bypass to accelerate digestion has become very popular, because it works well to lose a lot of weight… It is estimated that more than 500,000 French people are already in the standards of the intervention . Standards which will certainly fall further, although it remains surgery, therefore treatment with certain risks associated with the operation and above all the lack of follow-up!
80% of diabetics are overweight, and more than a third are obese. Of these, despite medical treatment, half died of heart disease, a testament to the level of drug failure. Losing weight lowers the sugar level.
What remains an enigma, and considerably fueled the debate in Nantes, is that weight loss is not the only explanation for these cures. Because, this is the most astonishing, the disappearance of diabetes in those operated on is obtained, in 81% of cases, in less than 2 years. The follow-up is now more than five years for the first operated. These are incredible results!
Weight loss does not explain these results since in those who are not operated and lose weight thanks to a diet, we do not obtain the same effects. It is likely, although there is no proof, that the surgery affects the pancreas, the organ that secretes insulin, the hormone that regulates sugar in the body. But the debate is elsewhere …
It is estimated that there are 2 million diabetics in France ….
Not to mention all those who are but who ignore it. Given the serious consequences of diabetes that the drugs do not balance, a case of conscience will arise for doctors, because the technique is not without risk and that we cannot decently, trivialize it.
Initially, what was proposed in the past only to very large obese people, we are now going to offer it to “very fat” people, as long as they are diabetic and hypertensive, therefore at “high” risk.
In any case for diabetics who are not fat; for the moment!
Some diabetologists believed that this debate will perhaps be offered to patients so that they can make the decision. Either live with the sword of Damocles from the terrible complications of diabetes (blindness, stroke, amputation …), or live with a shrunken stomach, a diet that is not always very pleasant and above all frequent checks to check if there is has no shortcomings …
The debate is not easy. Unless in the next 5 years, we see that the remission was in fact a real cure. It is then probable that the number of interventions will become very important.
It is urgent that our health authorities seize the file to help decide.
Not just diabetes
To add to the debate, the last American Cancer Congress showed that obesity surgery reduces the risk of uterine cancer by 70%. And then other studies suggest beneficial effects on other cancers, such as breast, prostate or colon.
Work to do for researchers …
.