US Pharm. 2012;37(4):1.
Chicago, IL—According to a study conducted at the Cleveland Clinic and presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 61st Annual Scientific Session & Expo, patients who underwent bariatric surgery were more than three times more likely to gain control over their diabetes after 1 year than those who were treated with drugs. In the STAMPEDE study, 150 patients with type 2 diabetes (BMI 27-43) were randomly assigned to one of three groups and received laparoscopic surgery, sleeve gastrectomy, or a noninsulin drug for diabetes. The main goal was to reduce A1C levels to 6% or lower after 1 year. Results showed that surgery is more effective than medication alone, with 42% of laparoscopic surgery patients and 37% of sleeve gastrectomy patients achieving their A1C goal, compared with just 12% of patients in the drug group.
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