For greater than 100 million Americans who’re obese, bariatric surgery may reverse complications related to diabetes, including regenerating damaged nerves, a Michigan Medicine study shows.

A research team led by the University of Michigan Health Department of Neurology followed greater than 120 patients who underwent bariatric surgery for obesity over two years after the procedure. They found that each one metabolic risk aspects for developing diabetes, corresponding to high glucose and lipid levels, improved outside of blood pressure and total cholesterol, in line with results published in Diabetologia.

Investigators also found that patients two years faraway from bariatric surgery showed improvements in peripheral neuropathy, a condition marked by damage to the nerves that go from the spinal cord all of the strategy to the hands and feet.

“Our findings suggest that bariatric surgery likely enables the regeneration of the peripheral nerves and, due to this fact, could also be an efficient treatment for thousands and thousands of people with obesity who’re prone to developing diabetes and peripheral neuropathy,” said senior creator Brian C. Callaghan, M.D., M.S., a neurologist at University of Michigan Health and the Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology at U-M Medical School.

Obesity is the second leading risk factor for peripheral neuropathy after diabetes, which affects greater than 30 million Americans.

Researchers assessed two primary measures for peripheral neuropathy in patients with obesity by taking skin biopsies that show the nerve fiber density within the thigh and the leg. Two years after bariatric surgery, nerve fiber density improved within the thigh and remained stable within the leg.

In comparison with previous studies of medical weight reduction, when providers guide a patient’s weight reduction goals, bariatric surgery led to higher metabolic improvements and even greater improvements in peripheral neuropathy.

“Given the natural history of peripheral neuropathy decline in patients with obesity, even stability in nerve fiber density could also be considered a successful result,” said first creator Evan Reynolds, Ph.D., lead statistician for the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies at Michigan Medicine. “Due to this fact, our findings of stability of nerve fiber density within the leg and improvement in nerve fiber density on the thigh indicate that bariatric surgery could also be a successful therapy to enhance or reverse peripheral neuropathy for patients with long-term metabolic impairment.”

Treatment for peripheral neuropathy currently focuses on pain, including oral medications such gabapentin and sodium channel blockers, topical analgesics and non-medical treatments, like exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Source:

Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan

Journal reference:

Reynolds, E. L., et al. (2023). The effect of surgical weight reduction on diabetes complications in individuals with class II/III obesity. Diabetologia. doi.org/10.1007/s00125-023-05899-3.