Article
Joslin Study Finds Similar Benefits of Gastric Band and a Dietary Program
The study, called the the SLIMM-T2D (Surgery or Lifestyle with Intensive Medical Management in Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes) trial, was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and observed similar improvements in blood sugar control a year after gastric band surgery or being on a group-based weight management program.
Weight loss is never easy, but it's important for overweight people with type 2 diabetes seeking to control their blood sugar levels and optimize their health. A small clinical trial among such patients led by Joslin Diabetes Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers now has shown that 2 approaches—adjustable gastric band surgery and an intensive group-based medical diabetes and weight management program—achieved similar improvements in controlling blood sugar levels after 1 year.
"We can anticipate long-term health benefits from both of these approaches, but they do require some investment of time and energy by the patient," says trial leader Allison Goldfine, MD, head of Joslin's Section of Clinical Research and an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the SLIMM-T2D (Surgery or Lifestyle with Intensive Medical Management in Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes) trial enlisted 45 volunteers who had long-duration type 2 diabetes, struggled to manage their diabetes and had a body mass index of 30 or higher.
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