Support Group Schedule Resumes
Diabetes Under Control!
The study involved 60 patients who were obese and had recently developed Type 2 diabetes, by far the most prevalent kind. Half were given conventional treatments, including diet, exercise and medicines. The rest got conventional treatment plus surgery in which a band is placed around the stomach to constrict its size and limit eating.
In almost three-quarters of those who had surgery, all signs of diabetes disappeared. Only 13 percent of those given conventional therapy had complete remissions. The difference was because of weight loss. Patients in the medically treated group lost only 1.7 percent of their weight, on average. Those in the surgically treated group lost 20.7 percent. There were no serious complications from the minimally invasive procedure.