EON

New York – Millions of Americans live everyday with diabetes.  Until recently, there has been no magic cure for the countless individuals who just want their lives to stop including needles, pills, and “carb” counting.

There has been buzz that invasive weight-loss surgery might provide some diabetics with the chance at a normal lifestyle even completely without diabetes.

The good thing is the speculation does not only rely on the notion that the weight-loss will produce the cure but possible hormonal changes occurring in surgeries such as gastric bypass. University of Washington endocrinologist David Cummings, M.D., is a staunch proponent of the procedure used as a cure for type 2 diabetes. Many patients bolster significant, if not full, recovery from the pancreatic disease.

In limited cases, though, there are some rare complications as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Fred Service, M.D., a Mayo endocrinologist and colleagues, found a challenging issue, which needs consideration. They state a small percentage of diabetic patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery experience severe neurological symptoms. These symptoms brought on by hypoglycemia caused by a subsequently overactive pancreas require additional surgery in these rare cases. When interviewed, Dr. Cummings argues, “… [though] a novel adverse consequence of gastric bypass surgery, “it’s hardly a public health crisis.” Both arguments are valid in their own right but shows how close science is to discovering a cure to a disease believed by some to be a death sentence, especially those not able to obtain proper treatment.