Weight loss from bariatric surgery appears to reverse the premature aging associated with obesity, according to research presented at Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2016. In his presentation, ‘Reversal of premature aging markers after bariatric surgery’, Dr Philipp Hohensinner, a researcher at the Medical University of Vienna in Vienna, Austria, said that surgical patients had longer telomeres and less inflammation two years after surgery.

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Omega-loop gastric bypass (OLGB) results in better weight loss (WL) compared to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), according to a retrospective study by researchers from the Medical University of Vienna, the Karl Landsteiner Institute for Obesity and Metabolic Diseases, Vienna and the Special Institute for Preventive Cardiology And Nutrition (SIPCAN), Salzburg, Austria. The study, ‘The Effect of Roux-en-Y vs. Omega-Loop Gastric Bypass on Liver, Metabolic Parameters, and Weight Loss’, published in Obesity Surgery, also reported that OLGB resulted in an increase of liver parameters in the first year after surgery, whist deteriorating after RYGB.

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Bariatric surgery can be safe and effective for patients older than 60 years of age with a low morbidity and mortality; the weight loss and improvement in comorbidities in older patients were clinically significant. The paper, ‘Outcomes of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in Patients Older than 60’, was published in Obesity Surgery. The study researchers from Montefiore Medical Center noted that a large proportion of patients reported resolution or improvement in comorbid conditions.

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Metabolic or bariatric surgery may be more effective than standard medical treatments for the long-term control of type 2 diabetes in obese patients, according to a study by King’s College London and the Universita Cattolica in Rome, Italy. The study, ‘Bariatric–metabolic surgery versus conventional medical treatment in obese patients with type 2 diabetes: 5 year follow-up of an open-label, single-centre, randomised controlled trial’, published in the Lancet, is the first to provide data on five-year outcomes of surgery from a randomised clinical trial specifically designed to compare this new approach against standard medical therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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A leading group of obesity experts writing in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology has questioned the mantra of ‘eat less and move more’ in combating obesity. In the paper, ‘Treating obesity seriously: when recommendations for lifestyle change confront biological adaptations’, the authors argue that obesity is a chronic disease with largely biological causes that cannot be cured with just diet and exercise.

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The early results from the Swiss Multicentre Bypass or Sleeve Study (SM-BOSS) have shown that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was associated with shorter operation time and a trend toward fewer complications than with laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), however, the difference was not statistically significant. The outcomes were published in the journal Annals of Surgery.

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Bariatric surgery induced weight loss can help reduce the risk of cancer to rates almost similar to those of people of normal weight, according to the findings of the first comprehensive review published in Obesity Surgery. The review, which takes into account relevant studies about obesity, cancer rates and bariatric surgery, concluded that the reasons for the findings were unknown but likely associated with weight loss or better awareness/diagnosis post surgery.

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Two studies at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City have found that bariatric surgery prior to joint replacement is a cost-effective option to improve outcomes after hip or knee replacement. The papers, ‘Cost-Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery Prior to Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Morbidly Obese’ and ‘Cost-Effectiveness of Bariatric Surgery Prior to Total Hip Arthroplasty in Morbidly Obese Patients’ were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Las Vegas.

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