Fifteen Minute Diabetes Cure
Scientists in London have just developed a non-surgical treatment for diabetes that may just revolutionize health care for the millions who suffer from diabetes worldwide. The treatment is a procedure that takes only 15 minutes to perform, and may lead to dramatic weight loss, which can stop the onset of diabetes cold in its tracks.
Major Breakthrough
The new treatment, which researchers are calling a major breakthrough, is also inexpensive and much safer than surgery. The treatment involves a patented device called EndoBarrier, which is a type of plastic sleeve that is inserted into a patient's intestines via an oral endoscope. EndoBarrier prevents food from being absorbed by the body. The device has been developed by a company based in the United States. Patients have the procedure done while fully awake.
EndoBarrier has been in trials at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for a year and a half now. Keith Gersin, head of obesity surgery at this institution had some good things to say about the device, "Obesity surgery can be risky simply because of the patient’s weight and the fact that you are giving them a general anaesthetic. That’s why it’s so good to have a non-surgical approach."
Please Don't!
Gersin said that the procedure is quick to perform and he can treat many more patients than ever before. The device was very popular with the trial participants who begged Gersin not to remove the device at the end of the trial period. No significant side effects were seen, and the device was as easy to remove as it was to install.
EndoBarrier has undergone rigorous testing in both the US and Europe. In late January of 2010, the device was licensed for use on European patients. In one 12-week trial performed in The Netherlands, patients lost an average of 16 kg. with EndoBarrier in comparison to a control group treated only with diet who lost on average only 5 kg.
The developers have underscored the fact that at £2,000, EndoBarrier costs just half the price of the least expensive surgical procedure for treating obesity. Gersin says that the trial participants continued to lose weight even after the device was removed. He believes the device motivated them to work at dieting and to learn how to eat sensible meals.
Clever Idea
The EndoBarrier is attached to the first 2 feet of the small intestine, which is where the majority of food absorption occurs. During trials of the device, EndoBarrrier was seen to reverse Type 2 diabetes within a matter of weeks by lowering blood sugar levels to the extent that medication was no longer needed. One leading UK weight loss surgery consultant, Nadey Hakim enthused, "I would love to be able to cure a patient’s obesity with a 15-minute procedure. It’s a very clever idea."
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