GASTROENTEROLOGY NERD ALERT: SIZZLE THE SMALL INTESTINE, HELP DIABETES?
GASTROENTEROLOGY NERD ALERT: SIZZLE THE SMALL INTESTINE, HELP DIABETES?
By Tara Troy, M.D.
Check out this fascinating Gut article highlighted in Med Page Today about a pioneering new treatment for diabetes. They describe a single minimally invasive endoscopic procedure that “involves circumferential hydrothermal ablation of the duodenal mucosa resulting in subsequent regeneration of the mucosa”. TRANSLATION: During an upper endoscopy heat is applied to the beginning part of the small intestine and the healed new intestinal lining can help treat diabetes.
“Duodenal mucosal resurfacing (DMR) yielded durable improvements in glycemic control and markers of insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a first-in-human trial of the endoscopic procedure.”
“The duodenum is emerging as an untapped therapeutic resource for the metabolic disease. Bypassing, excluding, or altering the presentation of nutrients to the duodenum results in a weight-independent improvement in glycemia in people with T2D, suggesting that the duodenum is pivotal in hepatic glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity, the authors explained.”
“Recent mechanistic studies suggest that the small intestine, in addition to digesting and absorbing food, functions as a large endocrine organ in a way that its malfunction would be the culprit in development of type 2 diabetes,” Ali Aminian, MD, a bariatric surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told MedPage Today. “In this innovative small clinical study, endoscopic burning of the lining of duodenum could lead to significant improvement in diabetes in the short term. The findings are promising, but the durability of the results in larger cohorts needs to be tested.”
Although this bold new treatment is not ready for prime time, it is amazing that endoscopy has been identified as an untapped arena for diabetes care. At Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health, we are dedicated to our continued education on all advances in gastroenterology and related fields. Please call to schedule an appointment at 224.407.4400 or visit compgihealth.com to learn more about the all the current services we have to offer!