Teens who undergo gastric bypass surgery are frequently relieved of Type 2 diabetes without delay, according to a study which appeared Dec. 30 in the journal Pediatrics.

This study is the first one that focused on the connection between gastric bypass surgery in Type 2 diabetes remission or better disease control, as far as adolescents are concerned, said lead researcher Dr. Thomas H. Inge, an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics and surgical director of the Surgical Weight Loss Program for Teens at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Researchers at the Cincinnati hospital and five other medical facilities examined 78 teenagers with type 2 diabetes, a severe condition that occurs when the body doesn't respond to the hormone insulin and whose incidence is very high in children and teenagers in the United States.

Of all participants, eleven underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. The rest of them followed routine management of their disease with drug and lifestyle modifications. 

After the one year of follow-up, researchers found that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass weight loss surgery can actually reverse the course of diabetes in adolescents.

Participants that didn’t undergo the surgery lost less than two pounds and still needed their medication to fight diabetes.

The average body mass index (BMI) of the youngsters was cut by 34 percent and, moreover, fasting blood glucose and insulin levels were reduced by an astonishing 41 percent and respectively 81 percent. The findings also showed enhancements in cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

"If you are a type 2 diabetic and morbidly obese, gastric bypass surgery should be considered in the treatment pathway," Dr. Inge said.