Surgery 'can help to control blood sugar'

Weight loss surgery has been found to be an effective way of stabilising blood sugar levels and could help to cure type 2 diabetes.

This is the main conclusion from a new study funded by the National Institute for Health Research's Biomedical Research Centre, which revealed that gastric bypasses were the most successful type of treatment.

Doctors at Imperial College London analysed the data of 209 patients with type 2 diabetes and found that 41 per cent achieved remission after surgery.

"Stomach surgery may not mean that patients can stop taking diabetes medication, but surgery and medication together achieve better results than either treatment on its own," said Dr Carel le Roux, who led the study.

He explained that gastric bypasses were particularly beneficial for glucose control.

According to Diabetes UK, 4.45 per cent of the UK population suffers from the illness – a figure which equates to 2.9 million people.

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Private diabetes treatment news: 5 January 2012